Chapter 3Types and Patterns of InnovationChapter3McGraw-Hill/IrwinMcGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Ericssons Gamble on 3G WirelessEricsson, founded as a telegraph repair shop in 1876; by end of 2002 was the largest supplier of mobile telecommunications systems in the world.First generation of cell phones had been analog. Second generation (2G) was digital. By end of 1990s, sales of 2G phones were beginning to decline. Telecom leaders began to set their sights on 3G phones that would utilize broadband channels, enabling videoconferencing and high-speed web surfing. In late 1990s, Ericsson began focusing on 3G systems, and put less effort on developing and promoting its 2G systems. However, transition to 3G turned out to be more complex than expected, and there were worries that users might not value them as much as hoped. Had Ericsson gambled too much (and too early) on 3G?Ericssons Gamble on 3G WirelessDiscussionQuestions:1. Is 3G a radical innovation or an incremental innovation? 2. What factors do you think will influence the rate at which 3G technologies are adopted by operators and mobile phone consumers?3. Is Ericsson trying to offer more technological capability than consumers really need?4. Is Ericssons focus on 3G technologies a good strategy? Why or why not? OverviewSeveral dimensions are used to categorize innovations.These dimensions help clarify how different innovations offer different opportunities (and pose different demands) on producers, users, and regulators.The path a technology follows through time is termed its technology trajectory. Many consistent patterns have been observed in technology trajectories, helping us understand how technologies improve and are diffused.沒有單一的分類法則來描述不同類型的創新創新種類技術系統創新技術創新 (Philip CD 83)產品創新 (Sony walkman 79)流程創新 (7-11配送創新)服務創新 (Fedexs Hub & spoke 98)管理系統創新架構創新 (KFC 加盟店 52)策略創新 (台積電 晶圓代工 87)創新的類型依對象：產品創新(針對現有產品或服務的特性或功能來改變或開發新產品)與程序創新(針對產品服務或的製造、行銷、配送進行改變)依幅度：連續性創新(對現有的產品、服務或技術做改變 )動態性創新(對現有產品、服務或技術做重大突破改變 )非連續性創新(為全新的產品、服務或技術)依層面：技術面創新(對現有產品或服務的功能或生產程序做改變 )管理面創新(只對產品或服務的管理過程做改變並不直接影響產品或服務的外表或功能)Types of InnovationProductversusProcessInnovationProduct innovations are embodied in the outputs of an organization its goods or services.Process innovations are innovations in the way an organization conducts its business, such as in techniques of producing or marketing goods or services.Product innovations can enable process innovations and vice versa.What is a product innovation for one organization might be a process innovation for anotherE.g., UPS creates a new distribution service (product innovation) that enables its customers to distribute their goods more widely or more easily (process innovation) Types of InnovationRadicalversusIncrementalInnovationThe radicalness of an innovation is the degree to which it is new and different from previously existing products and processes. Incremental innovations may involve only a minor change from (or adjustment to) existing practices. The radicalness of an innovation is relative; it may change over time or with respect to different observers.E.g., digital photography a more radical innovation for Kodak than for Sony.Types of InnovationCompetence-EnhancingversusCompetence-DestroyingInnovationCompetence-enhancing innovations build on the firms existing knowledge baseE.g., Intels Pentium 4 built on the technology for Pentium III.Competence-destroying innovations renders a firms existing competencies obsolete.E.g., electronic calculators rendered Keuffel & Essers slide rule expertise obsolete.Whether an innovation is competence enhancing or competence destroying depends on the perspective of a particular firm. 創新種類 Sustaining innovations (維持性創新): Bring a better product into an established market Disruptive innovations(破壞性創新): Low-end disruption(低階市場的破壞性創新): Address over-served customers with a lower-cost business modelNew-market disruption(創造新市場的破壞性創新): Compete against non-consumption.創新種類性性能能時間時間不不同同性性能能的的考考量量維持性創新維持性創新把更好的把更好的產品帶到現有市場上品帶到現有市場上低階市場的破壞性創新低階市場的破壞性創新以更低成本的事業模式，爭取被過度服務的顧客以更低成本的事業模式，爭取被過度服務的顧客創造新市場的破壞性創新創造新市場的破壞性創新爭取尚未消費者爭取尚未消費者未消費程度未消費程度公司改進軌跡公司改進軌跡顧客需求軌跡顧客需求軌跡Types of InnovationArchitecturalversusComponentInnovationA componentinnovation (or modular innovation) entails changes to one or more components of a product system without significantly affecting the overall design.E.g., adding gel-filled material to a bicycle seatAn architecturalinnovation entails changing the overall design of the system or the way components interact.E.g., transition from high-wheel bicycle to safety bicycle.Most architectural innovations require changes in the underlying components also. Technology S-CurvesBoth the rate of a technologys improvement, and its rate of diffusion to the market typically follow an s-shaped curve.S-curvesinTechnologicalImprovementTechnology improves slowly at first because it is poorly understood. Then accelerates as understanding increases.Then tapers off as approaches limits.Technology S-CurvesTechnologies do not always get to reach their limitsMay be displaced by new, discontinuous technology.A discontinuous technology fulfills a similar market need by means of an entirely new knowledge base.E.g., switch from carbon copying to photocopying, or vinyl records to compact discsTechnological discontinuity may initially have lower performance than incumbent technology.E.g., first automobiles were much slower than horse-drawn carriages.Firms may be reluctant to adopt new technology because performance improvement is initially slow and costly, and they may have significant investment in incumbent technologyTechnology S-CurvesS-CurvesinTechnologyDiffusionAdoption is initially slow because the technology is unfamiliar.It accelerates as technology becomes better understood.Eventually market is saturated and rate of new adoptions declines. Technology diffusion tends to take far longer than information diffusion.Technology may require acquiring complex knowledge or experience.Technology may require complementary resources to make it valuable (e.g., cameras not valuable without film).Technology S-CurvesS-CurvesasaPrescriptiveToolManagers can use data on investment and performance of their own technologies or data on overall industry investment and technology performance to map s-curve.While mapping the technologys s-curve is useful for gaining a deeper understanding of its rate of improvement or limits, its use as a prescriptive tool is limited.True limits of technology may be unknownShape of s-curve can be influenced by changes in the market, component technologies, or complementary technologies.Firms that follow s-curve model too closely could end up switching technologies too soon or too late. Research BriefDiffusionofInnovationandAdopterCategoriesEverett M. Rogers created a typology of adopters:Innovatorsare the first 2.5% of individuals to adopt an innovation. They are adventurous, comfortable with a high degree of complexity and uncertainty, and typically have access to substantial financial resources. EarlyAdoptersare the next 13.5% to adopt the innovation. They are well integrated into their social system, and have great potential for opinion leadership. Other potential adopters look to early adopters for information and advice, thus early adopters make excellent missionaries for new products or processes. EarlyMajorityare the next 34%. They adopt innovations slightly before the average member of a social system. They are typically not opinion leaders, but they interact frequently with their peers. LateMajorityare the next 34%.They approach innovation with a skeptical air, and may not adopt the innovation until they feel pressure from their peers. They may have scarce resources.Laggardsare the last 16%.They base their decisions primarily on past experience and possess almost no opinion leadership. They are highly skeptical of innovations and innovators, and must feel certain that a new innovation will not fail prior to adopting it. Research BriefDiffusionofInnovationandAdopterCategoriesTheory in ActionTechnologyTrajectoriesand“SegmentZero”Technologies often improve faster than customer requirements demandThis enables low-end technologies to eventually meet the needs of the mass market. Thus, if the low-end market is neglected, it can become a breeding ground for powerful competitors.Technology CyclesTechnological change tends to be cyclical:Each new s-curve ushers in an initial period of turbulence, followed by rapid improvement, then diminishing returns, and ultimately is displaced by a new technological discontinuity.Utterback and Abernathy characterized the technology cycle into two phases:The fluid phase (when there is considerable uncertainty about the technology and its market; firms experiment with different product designs in this phase)After a dominantdesign emerges, the specific phase begins (when firms focus on incremental improvements to the design and manufacturing efficiency). Technology CyclesAnderson and Tushman also found that technological change proceeded cyclically.Each discontinuity inaugurates a period of turbulence and uncertainty (era of ferment) until a dominant design is selected, ushering in an era of incremental change. Technology CyclesAnderson and Tushman found that:A dominant design always rose to command the majority of market share unless the next discontinuity arrived too early.The dominant design was never in the same form as the original discontinuity, but was also not on the leading edge of technology. It bundled the features that would meet the needs of the majority of the market. During the era of incremental change, firms often cease to invest in learning about alternative designs and instead focus on developing competencies related to the dominant design. This explains in part why incumbent firms may have difficulty recognizing and reacting to a discontinuous technology. Discussion Questions1. What are some of the reasons that established firms might resist the adoption of a new technology? 2. Are well-established firms or new entrants more likely to a) develop and/or b) adopt new technologies? What are some reasons for your choice?3. Think of an example of an innovation you have studied at work or school. How would you characterize it on the dimensions described at the beginning of the chapter? 4. What are some of the reasons that both technology improvement and technology diffusion exhibit s-shaped curves?