Innovation and Risk Management Models and Technological Innovation

Question: Demonstrate a critical awareness of the different models of innovation and how they apply to an industry case studies . Choose an innovative organisation and critically analyse the seven dimensions within a strategic innovation framework to produce a portfolio of outcomes that drive growth in your chosen organisation. Answer: Innovation, according to the definition, is the process of introducing new products or services that deviates from the established practice and doctrine (Edwards and Butz 2016). Making something new and the act of creation is the first step to the historical change in the culture and materials. It should be noted that making an innovative product or service does not imply it to be new but how it takes the steps to make the changes in established practices, cultures and doctrines which would lead to the historical significance (Drucker 2014). The effective innovation of a particular project enables an organization to achieve the growth in the industry such that to remain competitive in the market. Invention, on the other hand, is one of the aspects of the innovation and is often regarded as the first step in innovation (Galindo and Mndez 2014). The main difference between the innovation and invention lies in the far longer process of the innovation and direct creative art in respective of innovation the innovation involves the process of influencing the people to change their intellectual habits and replace the old behaviors with the new ones. According to Edwards and Butz (2016), the best way to illustrate the difference between the innovation and invention can be seen for the historical context. An idea is believed to be innovative if it is being unearthed and used in a new way as applied to a new situation. A for example, the helicopter was an invention of Leonardo ad Vinci as the technology was not evident before his lifetime. The idea became an innovation as the technology and time changed with the idea of the helicopter becoming a reality (Edwards and Butz 2016). Thus, from the above discussion it can be found that the innovation requires examining of methods, ideas, and inventions in order rot make something new thro ugh changes in doctrines, cultures, and practices. The action process for an organization can be divided into a number of stages including the expatriation, installation, initial implementation, final execution and expansion (Davenport 2013). These stages are shown to be linear but in actual implementation, the steps can be more dynamic. Accrording to West and Chesbrough (2014), the main objective of the innovative process as implemented by the organizations of a particular industry is to achieve the business objectives in order to remain sustainable and competitive in the market. It should be noted that the invocation process helps the organizations in remaining at par with the latest advance of the technologies and it also helps in meeting the demands of the customers and the market as well. According to Stefano and Verona (2012), there are basically tow innovative process models which help in guiding he organizations to implement, search, select, explore, synthesize, and converge with the process of innovation such that to remain competitive in the market. The innovative process models can be categorized into two models viz., (i) Linear innovation process model, and (ii) Flexible innovation process model. The linear innovation process model can be againclassified into push and pull models, like (a) Technology push model and (b) Market pull model. The Technology push model depicts the freezing of the concept of product or service such that to minimize the risks associated with the process (Di Stefano and Verona 2012). The model incorporates the innovation process of the enterprises to be involving the series of sequential steps or phases being arranged in a manner in such a way that the previous phase must be cleared before moving to the succeeding phase. The model requi res the project to go through a series of phases before moving to the next succeeding phase. On the other hand, the Market Pull Model is the type of linear model which incorporates the integration of the requirements of the customers associated with the innovation process. This model incorporates a series of steps including the evaluation of the requirements of the customers and the market, generation of concepts, refining of ideas, testing, marketing and sales (Triguero and Davia 2013). The Flexible Innovation Process Model help in illustrating the radical innovation process in business environment which has been rapidly changing. According to Bock and Gann (2012), the model is comprised of the phases which are developed in more than one phase i.e., the phases are being overlapped and are able to continue at the same pint of time. The model enables the company to exploit on the latest technology and new opportunities that are being available to it at the very forts hand by implementing a cyclical improvement cycle for the product development. Now, talking about the advantages of each models, the Linear model, according to Di Stefano and Verona (2012), helps an organization to innovate its business processes, products or services in a tightly controlled way in order to direct the innovation process from the very beginning itself in order to obtain the desired business objective. This model is safe and appropriate foot he new organizations as it involves the evaluatio n of the safety requirements in each of the steps involved in the process. On the other hand, according to Bock and Gann (2012), the Flexible model enables and organization to improve on its business process, products or services from any source and at any stage of innovation process. Moreover, it helps the company in innovating its business process in rapidly changing business environment as well. Burberry Group Inc., a luxury fashion brand based in the UK, is one of the most innovative brands in the country. The company has its head quarter located in London, England. Being established in 1856, the 2,523.2 million company expertise in developing outdoors attire, fashion house, trench coquets, pattern based scarves and other fashion accessories fulfilling the demands of the high fashion market in the country (Burberryplc 2016). The fashion house has been responsible for dressing up world famous athletes, musicians, world leaders and many famous actors including Audrey Hepburn, Ronald Reagan, Peter Sellers and others. In 2015, the company ranked 73rd in the list of Best Global Brands ahead of Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren. The company has more than 500 stores with over 10,000 employees working in over 50 countries all over the globe (Burberryplc 2016). The company is known for its digital innovation and strategy that has been helping it in maintaining its brand value since over a decade. Now, analysing the innovation process on the basis of the seven dimensions, we can determine the growth and progress of the company in the relavant market. According to Palmer and Kaplan (2016), the seven dimensions of the innovation process as relavant to a particular company can be comprised of: (i) managed innovation process, (ii) strategic alignment ,(iii) industry foresight,(iv) customers insight, (v) core technologies and competencies, (vi) organizational readiness, and (vii) disciplined implementation of the innovation process. The managed innovation process combines both the traditional and unconventional elements including competitive analysis of the market trends, customers and their demands as well (Palmer and Kaplan 2016). Burberry has been experiencing some serious downfall in terms of its market shares which came to merely 1-2% mark in the year 2006 where the competing companies have been growing at an average rate of 12-13% during the same year (Burberry Group plc 2016). According to the reports presented in The Guardian about the company, Burberrys decision of reaching a new target of customers, Gen Y by going digital was the most influential decision when the company transformed itself from an underscoring company to a well recognized brand in the next five years (The Guardian 2016). Moreover, the company has been making decisions to make investments in human resourcing in order to establish particular departments committed to the implementation of the innovation strategy. This decision, as made b y the board would help in enabling the company to proceed further in its approach to capture the digital market through the innovation process by aligning with the innovation strategy. Since over a decade, the company has been implementing its digital innovation and strategy that has helped it in maintaining its brand value (The Guardian 2016). Owing to some serious downfall in terms of its market shares, the companys decision of reaching a new target of customers, Gen Y by going digital was the most influential decision which helped the company to transform itself from an underscoring company to a well recognized brand (Burberryplc 2016). This industry foresight clearly enables the company to be focusing more on the demands of the customers and the industry where the competitors are found to be implementing on the traditional strategies. In addition, over the past few decade, the companys fashion house has been working hard in order to fulfill each and every demands of the high fashion market. It digital innovation in the form of the Art of the Trench, Burberry Acoustic, and Bespoke were designed to bring the brand into the hearts of the youths (Burberryplc 2016). The digital strategy of the company of the company is more concerned in engaging with its customers and spreading awareness rather than making only profits. This customer oriented strategy requires the company to be having a deep insight of the demands of the customers and which is not only winning the hearts of the customers but also of the critics as well. The company has managed to integrate the innovation stage with its business process. It has transformed itself to be the most successful example of a luxury brand through the utilization of the digital channels (Burberryplc 2016). This innovation strategy has been helping the company to focus more on the core technologies and competencies and thus, enabling it to fulfill the demands of the customers and the market where the competitors are found to be implementing on the traditional strategies. According to Palmer and Kaplan (2016), the organizational readiness is an innovation process which is defined by the high minded vision development, inspired dreaming and opportunity identification (Divergent thinking) and pragmatism (Convergent thinking) (Palmer and Kaplan 2016). These two thinking process had been implemented by Burberry when it decided to opt for going digital in order to connect with the customers on a global context with the implementation of the innovation strategy for f ulfilling the demesne of the customers and the market as well. This implies the company is capability of assessing the ability to take necessary actions and organizational readiness as well (Camisn and Villar-Lpez 2014). Accroding to Palmer and Kaplan (2016), the disciplined implementation of the company is implied by its creative approach of visionary strategic thinking in order to produce effective results for its business. The implementation of the strategies for the company is disciplined in the sense that it has been involving a broad set of activities and decisions for increasing the productivity and profitability of the business in the market through proper evaluation of the market and the industry. Thus, we can observe that by the application of the innovation process, the company has managed to transform itself from an underscoring company in 2006 to a well recognized brand in the next five years (The Guardian 2016). According to the reports presented in the BBC about the company, this innovation strategy had enabled Burberry to lead its luxury lifestyle brand with the revenue growth of 23% in the year 2012 (BBC 2016). The information from the annual report of the company revealed that it ha s been able to influence more than 60% of new customers buy in purchasing luxury goods online and collecting items in stores. Thus, we can observe that the innovation is a process of introducing new products or services that deviates from the established practice and doctrine and the effective innovation of which within a business organization enables an organization to achieve the growth in the industry so as to remain competitive in the market. This effective innovation of the project helps the organization to achieve the growth in the industry and also to remain competitive in the market. By analysing the various models of innovation and illustrating through an example of one of the most innovative companies in the UK on the basis of the seven dimensions as implied within a strategic innovation framework, we can observe that the strategic innovation of the company has been prospering the growth of the company in the market since decades. Thus, the innovation process is an important aspect for a company to transform itself from an underscoring company to gain brand recognition in the market in the future. 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