Business Innovation Report: Using Product Innovation to Increase Sales of ABC Mobile Company

BUSINESS INNOVATION REPORT
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Invention and innovation......................................................................................................................1
Value and Importance of Innovation.....................................................................................................1
Organisational leadership and culture...................................................................................................2
Managing Innovation.............................................................................................................................3
Recommended innovations...................................................................................................................4
Innovation Funnel..............................................................................................................................4
Frugal Innovation...............................................................................................................................4
Conclusions............................................................................................................................................5
References.............................................................................................................................................5
Introduction
This report explores the concept of business innovation considering the case of reliance that is facing
a decline in the sales of its smart mobile handset and using product innovation to bring back the
company to track. The ABC Mobile company is a manufacturer of the smart mobile phones that is
facing tough competitor because new players coming up mobile handsets that are sold at lesser
price because of which it is losing its market which is one of the merging markets for technology,
India. In order increase its sales, the company need to use an innovation and thus, report is going to
explore what kind of innovation would help the organization put the company back on track and
increase its sales.
Invention and innovation
Innovation and invention are seen as to phases of novelty creation and the difference is due to
differences in the qualities needed to them. Invention is an activity that does not have any economic
meaning and is only the first step of innovation. Invention involves conception of a new idea and
nurturing of its growth (George, 2010). It can be the first emergence of an idea or a product and
innovation would then become the first attempt towards making the idea a practical reality. Thus,
innovation can be seen as a process of the successful introduction of the invention to the world
(Beckenbach & Daskalakis, 2007).
The basic two-stage model of invention and innovation identifies two stages of development that
include invention that is achieved by delegating R&D agent the task of its production and is followed
by innovation which is the introduction of the idea to implement the idea in the market which is
influenced by a principal. Agent is the inventor who comes up with the idea and principal is the
person who implements the invention of the agent to bring innovation to the market (Poblete &
Splulber, 2014).

The transition from invention to innovation can be very complex as it involves participation of
multiple actors and entities such as venture capitalist, corporate managers, technologists, scholars,
entrepreneurs, private firms, and federal agencies (Evans, et al., 2002).
Value and Importance of Innovation
Innovation is important to any business as it can help an organization build sustainability, gain
productivity and maintain a competitive edge. It serves as a foundation for the economic growth of
an organization. There are several factors that drive innovation such as increase in demand, social
changes, economic forces, demographics, and competition among external drivers and need to
enhance profitability, improve ROI, increase cashflow and improve product quality as internal drivers
(Paunov, 2012). Innovation can enhance the competitiveness of an organization and its economic
performance. However, innovation can be costly to achieve and can also face risks. Thus, it is
important to achieve a collaborative environment between communities, research institutes,
businesses, and government if it has to be sustained ( Canadian Dairy Commission, 2010).
Innovation has some core values that include capability, inclusivity, possibility, opportunity,
sustainability, and responsibility. Capability refers to the capacities of an organisation to bring
innovation and it involves a strategic and disciplined approach. Inclusivity is about having a
technological value that enable open participation through collaboration. Any innovation comes with
a possibilities of success as well as failure (Townsend, 2010). At the same time, there are also
opportunities resulting from application of knowledge and experience from innovation. An
innovation that would sustain itself for longer than its production would bring sustainability value.
Responsibility is another critical element which seeks commitment from leaders of innovation in an
organization (Cagna, 2006).
Organisational leadership and culture
Corporate culture is a kind of internal system of an organization that shapes its working environment
and gives the personality of he company some distinguishing features or characteristics. It consists of
a set of symbols, assumptions, and practices that are followed throughout an organization and
create a generic code for the conduct for the company employees. Culture shaped the fundamentals
on the basis of which people in an organization invent and thus, the decision on how to innovate
would be influenced by the culture of an organization (Bruton, 2012). The ABC Mobile Company has
a culture of people thinking penetration such that the new market is required to be captured at any
cost by comping up with products that are most affordable to people in emerging markets. Thus,
considering the culture of the company, the most appropriate strategy that people would choose to
built would be product innovation through reduction of the prices of the product to make it most
affordable (Epstein, et al., 2010).

Figure 1: Dimensions of innovation culture (Szczepańska-Woszczyna, 2014)
Leaders can help enhance or strengthen the culture in an organization so that it is followed by
everyone working in the organization making it a unique practice that is followed throughout the
company. There are some cultural dimensions that are commonly observed in innovative
organizations that can be shaped by the leaders. These include goals, knowledge, resources, risk
taking, relationships, tools, and rewards. Along each dimension, a leader can help team take
decisions and form a culture of innovation and growth (Percival & Sheldon, 2013).
Employees in an organization can use different ideas to bring innovation. however, not all ideas work
and there can be a point of failure. Organizations with innovative culture have leaders who do not
punish employees for mistakes but encourage as mistakes gives them learning which can be used for
for further growth and generation of new ideas for innovation. If employees have the support of
their superiors, the chances of getting them to innovate is higher. Knowledge makes the primary
resource for any organisation that is innovating such that the information that exits inside as well as
outside the organisation can help shape ideas on innovation. In the case of the mobile company, the
information about the consumers buying cheaper phones can be used to drive the innovation by
producing mobile phones that are more affordable for these price conscious buyers (Sharma &
Sharma, 2010).
Leaders supporting innovation are needed to promote innovation and keep on identifying the
potential for innovation among people and systems. They must work to build the capabilities in the
employees for innovation by training them on how the think creative and implement new ideas. The
relationship dimension also carries a great importance in shaping an innovative culture as it helps in
building a collaborative atmosphere that supports the growth of innovation (Głód & Wronka-
Pośpiech, 2015).