Creative and Innovative Business Models-A Case Study of Apple Inc.

This article discusses the approaches to creativity and innovation in business models, with a case study of Apple Inc. It explores the ways in which Apple has relied on imagination and investment to create new products and attract customers. The article also discusses ways in which Apple can make money through its creativity and problem-solving techniques, and explores the process of creative problem solving.

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Creative and Innovative Business Models-A Case Study of Apple Inc.
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Approaches to Creativity.
For a company to succeed, there is a need to adapt to the highly changing market
environment in the world (Ginevicius and Cirba, 2009, p.191). This is because the future of the
company relies on the innovations and creativity of workers through changing their knowledge
into ideas (Karnitis, 2006, p.96). Ideas are developed through the availability of information and
communication technology. Through creativity, companies are able to innovate by implementing
new ideas (Lavickaite, 2011). The concept of creativity and innovation is important and
fundamental to the success of any company in the world. Doyle and Bridgewater (1988) argue
that it is not possible for a company to maintain its market unless it gets innovative. Creativity
refers to a situation where something new is brought into being.
Apple is a unique company that has taken leadership in the market by developing creative
and innovative products. The products made by Apple have attracted many customers through
attractive designs (Elmansy, n.d). Apple has relied on two approaches to creativity, imagination,
and investment. Imagination is the process of creating new ideas and new ways of solving a
problem. Apple has focused on innovation by transforming imaginative ideas through
experimentation. There are several innovations Apple has made including a wireless mouse, iPod
music player and an online platform for downloading music, iTunes store among other main
innovations such as iPhone in 2007 and iPad in 2010. Apple’s success has not been by luck but
through its high focus on ensuring ideas are generated fast.
The concept of Investment has been used by Apple. The approach is based on the concept
of being the first. Being the first in anything requires a company to invest in time, high
commitment and dedication. Apple created the first PC, the Apple computer in 1976, a first mp3
music player, the iPod in 2007 and the first iPad in 2010. The main focus for Apple is creating

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the best products that satisfy customer needs (Muller, 2010). The company invests its time and
resources to introduce new products. Every product introduced by Apple hits the market with
high recognition and increased rates of sale. For instance, the computer network created by
Apple in 1984 was highly accepted and other companies imitated the technology to introduce
new forms of computer networks.
Other firms in the computer and electronics industry have used different concept for their
growth. For instance, companies such as dell, Hp, Acer, Amazon, and IBM are companies that
have used the concept of creativity by improvement to dominate the market and stay
competitive. The concept of improvement is an approach based on being better in the market.
For instance, HP which is a computer and printer giant has regularly modified its products to
satisfy the consumer needs. The company has improved its computers by offering the best
technology, speed to promote efficiency (Trefis, 2015). The company has also launched new
varieties of its tablets and laptops in order to remain competitive in the market. Apple
competitors are therefore able to improve their products to cope up with the competition.
Apple could implement the approach of pulling and putting people together. Creating
teams among workers have been seen to be more productive than having individuals work
separately. When the minority views are included in a group, creativity increases. For instance,
development of the Macintosh computer was done by a group of people who were pulled out of
the company and given some space to work on the computer. Apple could also promote the
networking approach. Innovators use networking strategy by spending time with other
innovators or groups of people with different experiences (Garry, Julia & Thompson, 2012). This
helps by providing the innovators with different insights from the groups they associate with.

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Apple could make money through its creativity in many ways. Apple’s main goal when it
comes to creativity is to create a simple and easy to use the product or reinvent a product in a
better way (Bajarin, 2012). Imagine if other smartphones from different companies could use an
Apple’s operating system (iOS). Currently, there are imitations of the iOS currently running on
other non-Apple devices. If consumers in the world could get such an offer, users would upgrade
their operating systems with a bang. A large population of smartphone users could search for
applications in the Appstore and subscribe to services which would give the company high
profits. This would also increase the competition between Google (owners of Android OS) and
Apple company.
Apple largest source of revenue was from the iPhone which is an Apple creativity
through innovation. The second source of income at Apple came from the services sector
including the iTunes, App store and music streaming which gave the company more than $6
billion dollars (Vivek, 2016). If the iOS is made available on other phones, the revenue from the
service sector would double or triple for the company. Microsoft which is a top competitor for
Apple lost its smartphone market because it was protective of its operating system. Apple on the
other hand, still have a chance to take advantage of this creative idea since it is better in the
market (Vivek, 2016).
In order to make money, you must be willing to spend. In this case, in order to make
money from a creative idea, the company must be willing to invest in people with innovative
ideas. Carliss Baldwin (2012) argues that searching for people who are willing to innovate in
your company is like searching for a needle in a haystack. To define a challenge through
crowdsourcing, the company need to offer incentives in terms of money or other benefits which
helps people to select themselves amongst the workers (Garry, Julia & Thompson, 2012). By

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sourcing creative and innovative people, acquisition of talent becomes possible and this adds to
the generation of new ideas and products could be a source of revenue for the company. As
James of the Boston Consultant Group puts it, it is not just creativity that generates profits for a
company. Being innovative does not mean coming up with ideas, products or services rather it is
creating ideas and products that can generate enough money to pay all the costs including
rewards and benefits for your stakeholders. Some companies such as Xerox Corporation which
gave the world important innovations such as the laser printer, the mouse, ethernet among others
had not made any money which a failed innovation is.
A company like Apple can boost their success by employing the integrator model where a
company takes the responsibility for the whole innovation from the design, implementation, and
sale of the product. This model works best for big and already established companies like Intel.
Apple could leap greatly from licensor approach which is used by a company like Microsoft. In
this case, a software company gives an operating system license is issued to different
manufacturers f computers with an aim of ensuring the product is distributed to a wide market at
the lowest price (Carleen, 2004). This is a creative undertaking that could make money for
Apple.
innovation in order to make money from creativity, Apple need to include the element of
successful, a follow through. Innovation does not lead to economic growth but management
does. In this case, Apple needs to support its innovations with strategies aimed at promoting
customer service. Apple is very innovative but not good at executing.
Creative problem solving refers to tackling the problem by generating new ideas by
convergent and divergent thinking. The first phase in Creative problem solving is Clarify phase.
At this point, the company explores the goals and vision. This is aimed at helping in the

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understanding of the problem in a clear manner. Divergent tools such as brainstorming tool
where can be used. It involves generation and contribution of different ideas and solutions to a
problem (Rouse, 2017). Each member of the group contributes creative ideas in an innovative
way (Creative Education Foundation, 2015). During brainstorming, people’s ideas should not be
praised or criticized but they should be analyzed so that the right ideas are noted. To converge,
the challenge statement should be defined and tools such as dot voting are used. In dot voting,
the participants are given a set of cards with dots and the card is placed on the option presented.
The option with the highest dot count is taken. At this point, the challenge or the problem has
been established and questions that could solve the problem are aired.
The next phase in creative problem solving is the Ideate phase. At this point, ideas that
answer to the challenge questions are generated. Alternative means of solving the challenge is
sort from the different ideas raised. After this, the next phase is the development stage where
solutions are formulated. At this stage, all possible options are analyzed and solutions are
derived. This is a critical stage as the members need to ensure that the solution they give meet
the need and ensure it will be successful once implemented.
The last process in creative problem solving is the implementation. Sources that support
the implementation are sourced and an action plan is developed. This includes all the activities to
be undertaken from the moment. In formulating a plan, it is important to create a short-term and
a long-term plan for solving the problem.
The best tool for Apple to use in Creative problem solving is individual brainstorming.
This is because group brainstorming makes individuals unable to come up with new ideas and
they end up sticking to the already proposed idea. Individual brainstorming would work since

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every person comes up with a different idea of which different ideas are generated giving the
members a wide range of ideas to choose from.
On the other hand, brainwriting is not a good tool for Apple to use as a divergent thinking
tool. This is because it involves thinking in the same line of thought as the first person who
generated the idea. Brainwriting does not give the problem solvers a range of choices to choose
from which makes it inapplicable for Apple company.

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References
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