Innovation is universally acknowledged as crucial to a company’s bottom line. Businesses that take risks and adopt new strategies tend to expand rapidly and get greater financial rewards. It’s no secret that innovators have captivated the attention of CEOs throughout the globe. Everyone strives to develop the next big thing—the disruptive product or service that completely changes the game. Or at least they’re interested in making progress toward shifting any fundamental assumptions, procedures, or target markets that might be holding the company back from reaching its full potential.
Even so, many businesses do not risk trying something new because of the high probability of failure associated with several different sorts of risks and uncertainties. It’s common for new ideas to fall short of expectations or budgets. The business literature needs to be more complete with explanations about why this occurs, from a lack of strong opinions to a lack of the right personnel, sufficient funding, or a welcoming culture. But, there is a more fundamental reason why innovation initiatives fail: organizations must adequately define and measure innovation.
Ineffective measurement and management of the innovation process are significant contributors to the failure of creative efforts. Marisa and Knut stress the value of employing innovation indicators to evaluate success in the many steps of the innovation process, from ideation through commercialization and beyond.
As Valentina et al. points out, one reason new ideas don’t take off is that their proponents need to think about the consequences for the future. Sustainable innovation is defined in this article as the introduction of new goods, services, procedures, or business models that aid in the long-term prosperity of humankind and the planet. By adopting sustainable innovation, businesses may consider how their efforts will play out over time and ensure they benefit everyone involved. Stakeholder participation is also highlighted as crucial to sustainable innovation in this article. With stakeholder engagement, several groups—customers, suppliers, employees, and communities—are invited to participate in and shape the creative process. Companies may learn more about their stakeholders’ beliefs, preferences, and pain points and create innovative solutions that better meet those needs if they involve those stakeholders in the creative process.
On the other side, Jose-Luis, Francisca, and Carles explain why creative projects often fail and how open innovation might assist SMEs in overcoming some of the typical hurdles encountered when trying something new. According to this article, a lack of access to appropriate knowledge and resources is a leading cause of the failure of creative efforts. Due to their limited resources and competencies, SMEs may need help accessing external sources of knowledge and resources. The article recommends that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome this difficulty by embracing open innovation techniques, such as those that require working with third parties to pool resources and information.
Outside the conventional categories of “home grown” and “outside the company,” a new classification of technical innovation is proposed in this article. This classification scheme shows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) what kinds of technological innovation they can pursue and what types of information they will need to get. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can improve their chances of success by taking a more strategic approach to innovation by learning about the many forms of technological innovation and the sources of knowledge required to achieve them.
Established companies often need to react more quickly to disruptive technologies to keep their current consumers and business models running. In contrast, disruptive inventions typically target a smaller market initially because they are perceived as subpar to the status quo. By the time disruptive innovation has matured sufficiently to meet the needs of the mass market. However, the incumbents have already lost their edge in the marketplace. The argument holds water in the modern business world, where disruptive inventions are constantly posing a threat to well-established corporations in a variety of markets. Publishing, music, and retail are just a few examples of conventional businesses that the proliferation of digital technologies has upended. Amazon, Netflix, and Uber have effectively disrupted traditional markets by bringing new business models that provide consumers with greater ease, variety, and lower prices.
Lack of compatibility with the external environment in which the business operates is another common cause of the failure of innovative initiatives. Journal of Business Venturing articles on innovation implies that companies in fast-paced industries are more likely to try something completely new. Hence, the success of an innovative effort might be improved by external factors like legal restrictions and competitive pressures if the initiative is linked with the external context.
Last but not least, it’s possible that new projects fail because their creators need to work together with other organizations. Journal of Business Venturing articles on innovation implies that organizations that practice open innovation and work with external partners are more likely to create game-changing products and services. Hence, the success of an innovative endeavor may only be protected if it entails cooperation with other parties.
A critical literature study suggests that the ideas of innovation and the variables surrounding it are still relevant in the modern economic world. Innovation concepts remain relevant and crucial for businesses, despite the fact that the business setting has evolved over the years due to technological improvements, globalization, and altering consumer tastes. As presented in The Innovator’s Dilemma, the concept of disruptive innovation is one example that has yet to lose its applicability in the modern business world. Companies that need help to adapt to changing market conditions and new technology risk being left in the dust. This trend has recently been seen in sectors like retail, where brick-and-mortar establishments still need to catch up with the popularity of online shopping. Also, recent technological developments have opened up new avenues for creativity in fields like AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things. These changes have brought into focus the necessity of innovation for businesses to maintain their competitive edge and adapt to shifting consumer preferences.
In conclusion, the notions of innovation and its related variables highlighted in the aforementioned articles on business innovation are still relevant and crucial for organizations today, even though the business context has evolved over the years. Firms can better position themselves for success and adapt to the challenges and opportunities of today’s dynamic business environment if they grasp and utilize these concepts.
References
Cillo, V., Petruzzelli, A.M., Ardito, L. and Del Giudice, M., 2019. Understanding sustainable innovation: A systematic literature review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(5), pp.1012-1025.
Dziallas, M. and Blind, K., 2019. Innovation indicators throughout the innovation process: An extensive literature analysis. Technovation, 80, pp.3-29.
Jafari-Sadeghi, V., 2020. The motivational factors of business venturing: Opportunity versus necessity? A gendered perspective on European countries. Journal of Business Research, 113, pp.279-289.
Hervas-Oliver, J.L., Sempere-Ripoll, F. and Boronat-Moll, C., 2021. Technological innovation typologies and open innovation in SMEs: Beyond internal and external sources of knowledge. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, p.120338.
Kwon, K. and Kim, T., 2020. An integrative literature review of employee engagement and innovative behavior: Revisiting the JD-R model. Human Resource Management Review, 30(2), p.100704.
Parida, V., Sjödin, D. and Reim, W., 2019. Reviewing literature on digitalization, business model innovation, and sustainable industry: Past achievements and future promises. Sustainability, 11(2), p.391.
Si, S. and Chen, H., 2020. A literature review of disruptive innovation: What it is, how it works and where it goes. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 56, p.101568.
Wang, C., Fang, Y. and Zhang, C., 2022. Mechanism and countermeasures of “The Innovator’s Dilemma” in business model. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(2), p.100169.
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