Innovate or Perish: Managing the Enduring Technology Company in the Global Market

New Approach

The innovation and R&D island needs internal and external bridges to extend its scope of interaction and to build an effective network where ideas, feedback, and information flow and assemble into new products and solutions. Eric von Hippel studied the sources of innovation in 1988 and identified an emerging trend of user/manufacturer/supplier interdependence in bringing forward innovations within different key industries.

For the BOC business of innovation in the use of industrial gases, the source of such innovation was:

• 42% user

• 17% manufacturer

• 32% supplier

• 8% other

Which requires a solid external network to link the innovation and stay in the front of this demanding industry.

For engineering plastics, the source of innovation was:

• 10% user

• 90% manufacturer

Which requires a solid internal network for the manufacturer to assure diversity and coordinate among innovation teams.

So how to rethink the innovation process so that corporations can:

• Do the right innovation better, quicker, and easier, using less resources.

• Cross-pollinate the corporate core competencies.

• Create cross-functional and virtual project teams.

• Link the innovation process to team member covering development.

• Quickly commercialize and deliver innovations to the customer.

While at the same time building and reinforcing the following knowledge competencies within the organization and the team:

• Learning: The ability to acquire knowledge and to transform it into value-adding activities

• Changes: Ability and ...