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Technology- based Industries & the Management of Innovation. OUTLINE. Competitive a dvantage in t echnology- i ntensive Industries Appropriating the returns to innovation Strategi es to exploit innovation Alternative approaches Timing: to lead or to follow? Managing risk
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Technology-based Industries & the Management of Innovation OUTLINE • Competitive advantage in technology-intensive Industries • Appropriating the returns to innovation • Strategies to exploit innovation • Alternative approaches • Timing: to lead or to follow? • Managing risk • Competing for standards • Implementing technology strategy • The conditions for creativity • From invention to innovation
The Development of Technology: From Knowledge Generation to Diffusion IMITATION Supply side Basic Knowledge Invention Innovation Diffusion Demand side ADOPTION
The Development of Technology: Lags Between Knowledge Generation and Commercialization BASIC FIRST PRODUCT IMITATION KNOWLEDGE PATENTS LAUNCH Xerography late 19th and 1940 1958 1974 early 20th centuries Jet Engines 17th-- early 1930 1957 1959 20th centuries Fuzzy logic 1960’s 1981 1987 1988 controllers MP3 players Early 1990s 1994 1997 1999
Appropriation of Value:- How are the Benefits from Innovation Distributed? Customers Suppliers Innovator Imitators and other “followers”
The Profitability of Innovation Value of the innovation • Legal protection • Complementary • resources • Imitability of the • technology • Lead time Profits from Innovation Innovator’s ability to appropriate the value of the innovation
Legal Protection of Intellectual Property • Patents —exclusive rights to a new product, process, substance or design. • Copyrights—exclusive rights to artistic, dramatic, and musical works. • Trademarks — exclusive rights to words, symbols or other marks to distinguish goods and services; trademarks areregistered with the Patent Office. • Trade Secrets — protection of chemical formulae, recipes, and industrial processes. Also, private contracts between firms and between a firm and its employees can restrict the transfer of technology and know how.
Complementary Resources Distribution Manufacturing Bargaining power of owners of complementary resources depends upon whether complementary resources are generic or specialized. Finance Service Core technological know-how Complementary technologies Marketing Other Other
Lead Time • If rivals can imitate—time lag is the major advantage of the innovator. • But maintaining lead-time advantage requires continuous innovation • Lead time is reinforced by learning effects
U.S. Managers’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Different Mechanisms for Protecting Innovation Processes Products Patents to prevent duplication 3.52 4.33 Patents to secure royalty income 3.31 3.75 Secrecy 4.31 3.57 Lead time 5.11 5.41 Moving quickly down the learning 5.02 5.09 curve Sales or service efforts 4.55 5.59 1 = not at all effective 7 = very effective Source:Levin, Klevorick, Nelson & Winter. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1987.
Alternative Strategies for Exploiting Innovation Outsourcing certain functions Strategic Alliance Joint Venture Internal Commercialization Licensing Biggest risks & benefits. Allows complete control Limits investment, but dependence on suppliers & partners Benefits of flexibility; risks of informal structure Shares investment & risk. Risk of partner conflict & culture clash Small risk, but limited returns also (unless patent position very strong Risk & Return Allows outside resources & capabilities To be accessed Few Permits pooling of the resources/capabilities of more than one firm Substantial resource requirements CompetingResources Konica licensing its digital camera to HP Pixar’s movies (e.g. “Toy Story”) marketed & distributed by Disney. Apple and Sharp build the “Newton” PDA Microsoft and NBC formed MSNBC TI’s development of Digital Signal Processing Chips Examples
The Comparative Success of Leaders and Followers PRODUCT INNOVATOR FOLLOWER WINNER Jet Airliners De Havilland (Comet) Boeing (707) Follower Float glass Pilkington Corning Leader X-Ray Scanner EMI General Electric Follower Office P.C. Xerox IBM Follower VCRs Ampex/Sony Matsushita Follower Diet Cola R.C. Cola Coca Cola Follower Instant Cameras Polaroid Kodak Leader Pocket Calculator Bowmar Texas Instruments Follower Microwave Oven Raytheon Samsung Follower Plain Paper Copiers Xerox Canon Not clear Fiber Optic Cable Corning many companies Leader Video Games Players Atari Nintendo//Sony Followers Disposable Diapers Proctor & Gamble Kimberly-Clark Leader Web browser Netscape Microsoft Follower PDA Psion, Apple Palm Follower MP3 music players Diamond Multimedia Apple, Sony (&others) Followers
Leaders vs. Followers in Innovation PRODUCT INNOVATOR FOLLOWER WINNER Jet Airliners De Havilland (Comet) Boeing (707) Follower Float glass Pilkington Corning Leader X - Ray Scanner EMI General Electric Follower Office P.C. Xerox IBM Follower VCRs Ampex/Sony Matsushita Follower Diet Cola R.C. Cola Coca Cola Follower Instant Cameras Polaroid Kodak Leader Pocket Calculator Bowmar Texas Instruments Follower Microwave Oven Raytheon Samsung Follower Plain Paper Copiers Xerox Canon Not clear Fiber Optic Cable Corning many companies Leader Video Games Players Atari Nintendo/Sony Followers Disposable Diapers Proctor & Gamble Kimberly-Clark Leader Web browser Netscape Microsoft Follower Cholesterol lowering Raisio Unilever Follower margarine MP3 players Diamond Multimedia Apple Follower
The Strategic Management of Technology:To Lead or to Follow? Key considerations: • Is innovation appropriable and protectable against imitation? If so, advantages in leadership. • The role of complementary resources Followers may be able to avoid investing in complementary resources due to better- established industry infrastructure Firm possessing complementary resources has the luxury of waiting • Is owning/ controlling industry standard critical to competitive advantage? if so, advantage in being a leader.
Uncertainty & Risk Management in Tech-based Industries Selection process for standards and dominant designs emerge is complex and difficult to predict, e.g. future of 3G Technological uncertainty Sources of uncertainty Market uncertainty Customer acceptance and adoption rates of innovations notoriously difficult to predict, e.g. PC, Xerox copier, Walkman • Cooperating with lead users • early identification of customer requirements • assistance in new product development Strategies for managing risk Limiting risk exposure —avoid major capital commitments (e.g. lease don’t buy) —outsource —alliances to access other firms’ resources & capabilities —keep debt low Flexibility —keep options open —use speed of response to adapt quickly to new information —learn from mistakes
The Emergence of Standards • Emergence of a dominant design paradigm • Model T in autos • IBM 360 in mainframes • Douglas DC3 in passenger aircraft • Emergence of technical standards • Emerge in industries where there are network extremities • Entrenchment of the dominant designs and technical standards • Learning effects: incremental improvement of the dominant design • Switching costs • Need for coordinated action by multiple players
Sources of Network Externalities • User linkages, e.g. • Telephone systems—only value of telephone is connection to other users • Video game consoles—same platform allows users to exchange games and play interactively • On-line auction—value of auction depends on number of buyers and sellers participating Also, social identification—listening to same music, watching same TV shows, wearing same clothes in order to conform • Availability of complementary products, e.g. • Most PC applications software written for Windows, not Mac. • In economy autos, easier to get parts and repair for a Ford Focus or Honda Accord than a Kia, Proton, or Lamborghini • Economizing on switching costs, e.g. • E.g. office software (Microsoft Office vs. Lotus SmartSuite)
Companies that Own Technical Standards COMPANY PRODUCT CATEGORY STANDARD Microsoft PC operating systems Windows Intel PC microprocessors *86 series Matsushita Videocassette recorders VHS system Iomega High capacity PC disk drives Zip drives Intuit Software for on-line financial transactions Quicken AMR Computerized airline reservations system Sabre Rockwell/ 3Com 56K modems V90 Qualcomm Digital wireless telecom signals CDMA Adobe Systems Common file format for creating and viewing documents Acrobat
Competing for Standards:Value Appropriation vs. Market Acceptance Maximize value appropriation Maximize market acceptance Betamax VHS LOOSE TIGHT Apple Mac IBM-PC
Fighting Standards Wars • Determine the potential for standards emergence—analyze network externalities • Building a bandwagon—enlist partners (requires licensing & sharing returns from the technology) • Pre-empting the market—Build user base quickly: May require sharing benefits with consumers (penetration pricing) • Manage expectations (the Microsoft advantage) What if you’re a loser? (a) ensure compatibility (b) go for niche How can the winner sustaining the standard? --Don’t fall behind on technology --Ensure backward compatibility --Meet threat of disruptive technology by offering customers a migration path --Reinforce standard with other resources—e.g. brand
The Conditions for Creativity:“Operating” and “Innovating” Organizations
Strategy Implementation: Invention to Innovation • While invention depends upon creativity, successful innovation requires integrating new knowledge with multiple business functions. • Need to link R&D departments with other functions (the problem of Xerox’s PARC) • The role of cross-functional new product development teams as vehicles for integration • The role of product champions--in achieving integration and counteracting organizational inertia.