Innovation System Linkages in Indian Hydrocarbon Sector

With the liberalization of Indian hydrocarbon sector, the various organizations that comprise this sector face the challenge of becoming globally competitive. This chapter elaborates the concept of innovation system, that is, the formal or informal linkages between the policy makers, industry, academic and research institutions, etc. and its relevance for organizational effectiveness. Using creative and visual thinking tools, authors explore the reasons for the fragmentation of innovation system of Oil India Limited (OIL), a national oil company operating mainly in the northeast India. This fragmentation is evident from several issues such as stagnating oil production, technological obsolescence, continued impact of natural calamities and conflicts in the region and prolonged dependence on central government funding. The authors suggest a high impact solution consisting of policy-making directed at promoting entrepreneurship, strengthening the innovation system through improved stakeholder communication and prioritizing the science and technology investments to address the regional problems.

Advancing the Potential of Diversity for Innovation

This chapter introduces a collaborative conflict resolution model with a focus on cultural diversity and innovation. Its practices are research based, presented with explanatory theories, and uniquely suited to the multicultural teams of the global market. The chapter presents the optimal criteria for multicultural process identified in evaluative research conducted in four parts of the world: the Balkans, Cameroon, Nepal and Ukraine. It aims to demonstrate the correlations between collaborative conflict process at its best and innovation within diverse teams and organizations.

Usage of ICT Tools in New Product Development

Involvement of users in new product development is needed more than ever due to the technological and the social progression in recent years. Usage of ICT tools is one approach forwarded in literature discussing user-involvement. This chapter explores the antecedents of ICT usage in NPD. We utilize five groups of factors: innovative climate, strategic emphasis on ICT tools, ICT champions, competencies and performance expectations. To this end three case studies were conducted. The case findings demonstrate that the most significant antecedents for sustained user-involvement in NPD with ICT tools are strategic emphasis, competencies and the type of ICT champion.

Are the Pre-Diffusion Phases Shortening?

This chapter focuses on the pre-diffusion phases for high-tech products. These phases last from the first time a technology is mastered and demonstrated up to the start of the large-scale production and diffusion of products based on that technology. The purpose of this chapter is to underline the managerial relevance of the pre-diffusion phases. Two questions will be answered in particular: (1) How long do these pre-diffusion phases last for high-tech products? (2) Have these phases shortened or not over the last 150 years? Fifty-three cases of high-tech products, invented between 1837 and 1998, are investigated. The pre-diffusion phases are shown to last 16 years on average, but their length varies considerably per case. No proof for the shortening of these phases over time is found. The resources devoted to research and development in different fields of expertise may have increased but the length of the pre-diffusion phases has not shortened accordingly.

Harnessing Knowledge for Innovation in Social Enterprises

Very little research has investigated the role of intellectual capital (IC) in innovation processes in social enterprises. After reviewing the literature, the central argument in this research study is that IC assists social enterprises to harness knowledge that leads to innovation for the pursuit of social and commercial activities. Thus the study contributes to the literature by theoretically arguing that IC can be utilized in innovation processes in social enterprises. An IC conceptual framework is proposed which helps social entrepreneurs to visualize IC and its components in their organizations. Finally, the framework’s implications for the development of effective innovation-based strategies in social enterprises are discussed.

A Performance Evaluation Framework for Innovation

This chapter presents a framework for a conceptual evaluation of the performance of industrial product innovation activities. The framework promotes a holistic view of performance by considering three categories of activities: Planning, Implementation, and Sales and Delivery. Successful performance evaluation comes from acknowledging the fact that there are different objectives for each of the three activity categories. Moreover, performance may be expressed as a function of the performance of the Planning, the Implementation, and the Sales and Delivery activities. In this chapter the results of research involving seven large companies in Sweden, with the objective of improving the understanding of what is required to be successful when developing complex industrial products, are presented. Key factors for success as well as some general conclusions are discussed.

Lowering the Center of Gravity around Enterprise IT

In this chapter, we look at three key reasons why corporate development projects fail and how a technology and innovation management program can change a company’s approach to information technology. First, we briefly provide context to typical IT management issues, covering business-as-usual management with the role it plays as part of supporting the enterprise and the issues that arise because of it. We then review three common issues – solutions that are dead on arrival, dead by committee and dead by adoption. An introduction to IBM’s Technology Adoption Program describes one such innovation management discipline demonstrating through three brief case studies how to mitigate the common plagues of development projects. While the issues with technology and innovation management are obviously wide and varied, this chapter focuses on the need for a formal initiative to manage innovation. Similarly, fully understanding the workings of a program such as TAP is of considerable scope. The benefit to the reader is our focus on driving the decision making around technology to the users – the community – as a core part of making decisions.

Cumulative Causation as Explanatory Theory for Innovation

While numerous theories have been used to explain innovation, one found to be useful in recent years is cumulative causation. Its major focus on incremental and evolutionary change, the path dependent nature of change, and its circular and cumulative effects, make it particularly useful in helping to explain innovation. In this chapter the literature on cumulative causation theory is reviewed to highlight links between these characteristics of the theory and innovation, as well as influences such as problem solving, learning by using and doing, collaboration, specialisation and the clustering of industry in certain locations. These characteristics and influences are then used as a basis for reporting empirical research into the nature of innovation in manufacturing and processing in an Australian rural region, and the usefulness of the theory for explanatory purposes is evaluated.

Managing Corporate Social Responsibility as an Innovation in China

Many foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) focus on legal compliance and charity in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs in China. The strategic approach of CSR requires many innovations that are new to the organizations adopting them. The key barriers for the strategic approach of CSR are the apathy attitude of many executives toward CSR and the shortcomings of the institutional framework in China. This chapter describes a few innovative CSR initiatives being utilized within an industrial association and within partnerships between local non-government organizations. It also explores institutional incentives for managing the process by using the social movement theory. It may inspire foreign MNEs to improve the CSR practices of their affiliated companies and their suppliers in China through a few social innovations. Corporations also learn how to engage in social change through their CSR programs in China.

Entrepreneurship Competencies and Management Capabilities for Innovation and Sustainable Growth

The aim of this chapter is to challenge the context of entrepreneurship competences and management capabilities needed for innovation. We build our arguments in step with actual practice analyzing data from over 200 innovative companies which have been created under the formal requirements of a regional business plan competition during the last 10 years. This study explores the crucial capabilities to start an innovative business and discuss the capabilities have to be developed to sustain innovation and business growth. Therefore, it can be hypothesised that entrepreneurship and innovation education provided by Universities, Centres for Entrepreneurship and through coaching by Business Plan Competitions should focus on building awareness for the necessity of innovations and prepare inventors, entrepreneurs and students for not simply starting an enterprise but the change process in growing companies. The questions are not of whether or not to educate people about entrepreneurship and innovation but rather what are the context and the capabilities needed to sustain business and become an innovative and successful entrepreneur?