Managing Innovation in Business

This report discusses the concept of managing innovation in business and evaluates its impact on the growth and profitability of Apple Inc. It explores the future innovation capabilities of the organization in the technology industry.

Managing Innovation
in Business

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report developed discusses and evaluates an in-depth examination of the concept of
managing innovation in industry and for a particular business as well belonging to the particular
industry. Innovation is a process or a phenomena of converting a new idea into a full proof
procedure and offer an entirely new offering to the public and potential buyers. Industries and
marketplace is dynamic nowadays. New developments are taking place which is causing
fluctuations in consumer demands and buying behaviours. As well as people and their needs are
evolving which is resulting in changing social trends on a very fast pace. Innovation brings
change in the industry, marketplace, organisations and in the profitability of the company.
Regular innovation and invention bridge a path for the economy of the region towards the
highest position amongst other economies around the globe. Therefore, innovation is a concept
which brings several benefits and development for the society and communities.
In the report technology and mobile industry is adopted and for which Apple Inc. is
chosen as a base organisation for completing the requirements of the assignment. Apple Inc. an
American multinational technology company which was established in 1946 by three experts
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Apple Inc. operates and servers to worldwide
customer's but its headquarters are in its domestic market the place where company was build
that is California, United States. Apple Inc. has its retail stores for distribution of products and
innovative offering in the world with around 500 stores. The company deals in several industries
such as technology, media, retail and others but its core industry through which it acquires value
is technology sector.
This assessment is the second part of the whole assignment in continuation of CW1 and
which reflects upon the role innovation has in fostering or boosting the growth, success and
profitability of Apple Inc. The project is divided into parts where in the first section it is
determined that the technology industry is concentrated on 5G technologies, Artificial
Intelligence which is commonly referred as AI, Gigabit LTE and updated technological phones
and devices. Moving along with the research it is identified that the brand is regularly innovating
and searching for alternative for other devices in the industry for matching with the market and
gain competitiveness. The whole report is based on innovation and development taking place in
the industry and which develops the needs for updating and upliftment the operations through
effective use of innovative offerings.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................4
The Future of the Industry 2020 and Beyond.............................................................................4
The Organisations Innovation Requirements 2020 and Beyond.................................................6
Future Innovation Capabilities for the Organization.................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Innovation and invention are two terms which are used interchangeably but are two
separate concepts and processes. Innovation is a common concept people or more specifically
businesses uses for attaining competitiveness and staying one step ahead of others in the
industry. Innovation is making new changes in existing offerings and rendering a new product or
service to customers which is updated and holding all new and features fulfilling all the
requirements and needs of consumers (Hu and et. al., 2019). Invention is a vague but an effective
process which involves the introduction of new commodities in market which do not exist in the
world and being newly generated and developed. The purpose of this report is to make use of
industry knowledge and accordingly identify the future innovation capabilities of the chosen
organisation.
Apple Inc. is selected for the project which was founded in 1946 by Steve Jobs, Steve
Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The services and products are offered to public in whole world as
the company has its presence in all over the world. Apple Inc. has its headquarters in California,
United States. The product portfolio of Apple Inc. is diverse and revolutionary holding numerous
of offerings such as iCloud, Apple TV, ipad, ipod, iphone, iTunes, Mac, App Store, Apple
Watch, Siri, ios, HomePod etc.
The structure of the report is divided into three parts, first section is general and industry
based where a industry analysis is performed for having an idea about the future of the electronic
and technology sector in 2020 and beyond it. Moving along next up is identification of the need
for the company to innovate and develop further in further years. And at the end, in the
discussion future innovative capabilities of company is build according to the mass evaluation
and examination conducted.
MAIN BODY
The Future of the Industry 2020 and Beyond
Electronic industry of the world is inclusive of numerous leading organisations which are
rivals to each other and who deals in similar form of offerings and commodities. The companies
are competing against the same form of products which are the audio and video devices used for
entertainment and other purposes for example, television, mobile phones, laptops, computers, ear
plugs, ear buds, headphones and many other electronic gadgets. These electronic goods were

considered to be luxury goods in early development stage but in today's world these devices and
technological devices are covered under the head of day to day necessary goods and
requirements. Every now and than new products are launched with new features and updating
technologies that are innovative and fresh. The competitive advantage of businesses continuously
shift to each other on the basis of the technology in which other factor once added leads to
making the company the leading brand in the market amongst others (Ma and et. Al, 2019) . The
competitive nature of business and regular evolution taking place in technologies have given a
new picture to electronic industry and took it to an another new level. The electronic industry is
known to be one of the most saturated, developing and competitive sector as comparison to
others along with holding major contribution in development of those sectors as well and the
economy too.
There are several leading brand that are ruling the industry from past decade for example,
Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Apple etc. and their success is contributed by the research and
development which led them to invention and regular innovation. These electronic brands are the
drivers of electronic industry developing new goods with updated technologies and with
changing the consumers trends by attracting them to their innovation and inventions. Electronics
and technology when aligned generated offerings which provides easy and comfort to human
kind, saving huge efforts for performing tasks and for making development in the industry. With
the continuous race of becoming the best for the people new developments regularly takes place
that are mind-blowing and known as the future of today's generation (Pomaquero-Yuquilema,
López-Salazar and López-Aguirre, 2019).
It is believed that the world is in phase of Virtual reality running with all new
technologies and electronic devices with 4K and 5K devices, autonomous vehicles and robots.
Another flourishing and booming technology is known as Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is
developing commodities and gadgets that are for assessing and supporting people to lead a better
life and enhance and their living standard by upgrading lifestyles. These major brands and
electronic competitors are innovating and improvising, brings new upgraded technological
products and services for human kind that are used for mass purposes and in day to day lives of
people. Customers expectations and needs are developing according to the offerings of the
businesses which makes them more reliant on electronics and technology.

Thus, it can be said that consumer and corporate electronic industry is excelling and in
going to be profitable in future as well. Leading players are aggressively indulged in research
and development for serving new life changing product offerings to society. The aggressive
efforts made towards brining new goods in market and innovating boosts the growth and success
of large organisations like Apple Inc. who is the market leader.
The Organisations Innovation Requirements 2020 and Beyond
Apple Inc. is the large scale manufacturer of electronics and high tech gadgets for their
customers fulfilling needs and meeting the expectations of consumers. Goodwill of Apple Inc. is
developed over its premium quality products which are made of upgraded technology and
innovative handy deigns of goods and the innovation it brings in its offerings. Furthermore,
changing trends, social needs and preferences of population directly affects the interest of
employees of Apple Inc. as they work more creatively for bring new innovative offering for
people which can make their expectation form the brand go high as the satisfaction level is met
(Vasilaki and Tsakalidis Jr, 2019). The employees or human resource of company bring huge
support for the development and innovative portfolio of Apple Inc. enabling the brand to gain
competitive edge and stay ahead of the competitors. Few innovations of Apple Inc. that are going
to enter the market in near future are as follows:
 Apple iCar: Apple Inc. is going to shift industries in 2020 by developing and introducing
their iCar in 2020 which has a shape of a mouse and known to be an electric car. The iCar
of Apple Inc. is not designed according to conventional conventional designs of battery
but develops batteries independently on its own by technology and other special features.
The company is introducing the car of the century which is sustainable made of
environmental friendly technologies and and with eco-friendly features.
 iKeyboard: The electronic industry is going virtual and the world is known to be in
virtual phase all with the contribution of technology (Gil, Madrid and Fajardo, 2020).
With the same new innovative technologies Apple Inc. is planning to bring in iKeyboard
a newly designed virtula keyboard going to be developed with upgraded technologies and
with all new features changing the view of traditional keyboards being used today by the
world. Airtificial technology is the foremost tool that is going to be used in development
and processing of new iKeyboards of Apple Inc. developers.

 Foldable iPhone: The main focus Apple Inc. is on the new range of mobile phone which
is going to be part of their innovative product portfolio that is aligned with customers
desires and needs for meeting their expectations and for serving new offering to them.
Customers loyalty is the foremost value which Apple Inc. earns through their products
designed with new technologies that are upgraded and the best in the market. Foldable
iPhone is one of the newest updated innovations of Apple in their mobile phone range
which is going to be part of marketplace by 2020 (Swiergiel and et.al., 2019). The is
developed with special features and new design which grabs the attention of customers
and potential buyers. The firms sustainability and profitability will be increased and its
outcome will be a huge contribution in inducing sales units of the make maintaining its
position of market leader.
Future Innovation Capabilities for the Organization
Innovation refers to a process which is used in order to convert a creative idea into
reality. It is quite crucial for the organizations to adopt in order to make sure that they are able to
attain their specific goals and objectives (Aas, Jentoft and Vasstrøm, 2016). It is important
because the companies are required to adjust to the changing business environment whose
dynamic requirements keeps on changing. Thus adjusting towards change is crucial in order to
make sure that the company is able to sustain in the market. Apple is a company which has
focused on adopting an innovative approach since its inception. It is one of the most innovative
companies in the world which focuses on bringing constant new products for its customers.

Innovation Capabilities refers to a firm's ability to bring new ideas and transform them
into reality. Transformation can be done into new or improved products, services or processes
which can be beneficial for a firm.
Apple looks to develop its innovative capabilities so that it is able to consolidate its
position as the market leader. For this the company has planned a line-up of innovations which it
is planning to bring in the market. The future innovation capabilities of the company will be as
follows-
Processes- For an organization it is important to develop its processes to be able to
sustain and manage the innovation (Janjić and Rađenović, 2019). In Apple, the processes which
are used for the development of products are one of the best in the world. This makes it easier to
sustain and manage innovation. However for the future and the dynamic requirements which the
customers will have in the future the company will aim to bring improvements in its processes so
that it is able to bring efficiency in its production and bring innovative products in the market. As
Apple aims to bring Augmented Reality i.e. AR in its products it needs to improve its processes
clearly so that it is able to bring this change in its goods to make them look attractive and in
order to attain a strategic edge over its competitors.
Human Resources- The Human Resources of an organization are its biggest assets
(Möller and Halinen, 2017). For Apple, its employees are quite valuable because their ideas and
inputs have been crucial for the company which has allowed it to attain success in the market by
becoming market leader. It has to channelize the creative inputs from them so that it is able to
develop its innovative products in the future time period as the ideas which are given by them are
quite useful for the company's short-term and long-term plans. Apple plans to introduce Virtual
Reality in its products in the future because VR is becoming the new requirement on the part of
the customers in the market for the high price which they are paying for the products. For this
project, the ideas and inputs of its workers will be quite necessary as it will help the company a
lot in bringing VR into its products and satisfy its customers. The talent of its employees will
help it surely to make its VR project achieve success and their contributions are a must for
innovation.
R&D- R&D refers to research & development. It is crucial for the companies to be able
to assess their future innovation needs. Creative and Innovative ideas require investment to be

put into this department so that they can be matured into reality. Apple has a dedicated R&D
centre which acts as its focal point for innovative processes. It needs to put additional investment
in it in the future time period so that it is able to roll out its planned innovations. As 5G
technology is under development, Apple has planned to make sure that it make use of its R&D
processes in the future to be able to make 5G a reality in its flagship product which is the iPhone.
For this purpose, extensive investment in R&D is required which the company is planning to do
in order to bring 5G.
Financial Capabilities- Financial Capabilities are a must for a firm if it aims to be
innovative in its approach (Mousavi, Bossink and van Vliet, 2018). Apple is one of the Top 10
companies in the world and therefore has a good financial capability to channelize its processes
effectively. It plans to bring bring further enhancements in its iPad line-up to make sure that its
tablets are ready for the future. For this there is a requirement of development of financial
capabilities in an effective manner for the future. Apple will be required to raise its financial
resources for channelizing its innovations.
Physical Resources- Physical Resources are crucial for an organization. In the context of
Apple, they are quite crucial because there is a requirement from the company to keep them
optimized for securing its innovation needs. Apple plans to bring out MacOS Big Sur which
makes it a biggest update to its Mac line-up. For this it has to maintain its physical resources in
the future and bring the required improvements in them to channelize and sustain innovation in
the future time period.
Technological capabilities- Technological capabilities are crucial for any electronics
company. They are required to be able to use the new technology and develop new products
which are aimed for the future customers and their specific need and requirements. Similarly for
Apple it is very important to be able to enhance them in the future time period by investing more
funds in them so that it is able to upgrade its technology and bring out new innovations. Apple
plans to bring out iOS 14 in the future and for that it has to enhance and upgrade its
technological capabilities. This will allow the company to be able to identify the bugs in the
primary stage of software testing itself and remove them to provide a seamless experience for the
customers.
Knowledge Capabilities- Innovation is a process which demands higher application of
the knowledge (Tidd and Bessant, 2018). It is to identify and test the innovative idea in an

effective manner which will make sure that the idea is transformed into reality. In Apple, the
focus for the future will be to develop the knowledge capabilities so that it is able to transform its
innovative ideas into reality. Apple is planning to bring further innovation by bringing
improvements in AirPods which are its wireless earphones to provide its customers a seamless
music listening experience. For this development of knowledge capabilities is a must so that the
company is able to bring this particular improvement.
Assets- Development of Assets is crucial for innovation strategy (Van Lancker, Wauters
and Van Huylenbroeck, 2016). For Innovation, a firm requires that its assets are up-to-date and
support innovation. In the context of Apple, development of these assets and bringing
improvements in them is required in the future time period so that it is able to bring and sustain
innovation. It plans to bring plenty of new features in iPhone 12 series which will be its main
products for the future. For this purpose bringing the necessary change in the assets will be
required at the part of the company to be innovative in its approach towards its main product
series in the future time period.
Operations Capability- Operations Capability is crucial for the organizations to
optimize the overall processes in order to be driven towards the achievement of innovation
(Zeng, Hu and Ouyang, 2017). In Apple, the plan is to develop it for the future to be ready for
innovation. For bringing all OLED phones in the market it has to bring the necessary changes in
its operations capability by developing it in an effective manner. This will make sure that the
company is able to transform its innovative capability in the market.

For the development of these innovation capabilities it is necessary to adopt a particular
process. This process is as follows-
Identifying the innovative change- Firstly, the firms are required to identify the
innovative change which is planned by them in the market. Thus Apple should be able to identify
the innovative change in the market and therefore must develop its processes accordingly to
support it.
Development of processes- Here, the companies must be able to develop the processes
in an effective manner to support their innovative strategy. Apple has to develop the processes so
that it is able to attain the desired goals in its innovation strategy.
Upgrading the skills of staff- For the organizations, it becomes crucial to be able to
upgrade the skills of its staff members. In Apple, the requirement is to upgrade the skills of staff
members to be able to innovate.
Improving the financial position- In big companies, there is a requirement to improve
the financial position in order to be able to develop the innovation capabilities. If Apple has to
develop its innovation capabilities it has to aim to consolidate its financial position in an
effective manner so that it can implement its innovative ideas with relative ease.

Thus in this way Apple will be able to develop its innovative capabilities for the future by
implementing the necessary and desired changes in them to modify them for the future.
CONCLUSION
The above report is developed over the most important and a common phenomena of the
business industry in today's world “Innovation and its management” summarising the needs for
companies of nay sector to innovate and develop for better future of their organisations and
developing the society. Innovation is known to be the current best way for businesses to sustain
and succeed in the marketplace for growth and better profitability. Innovation is a tool which
enable the brand to offer stiff neck to neck competition to rivals in industry while developing and
explore more and more opportunities. Moreover, regular innovation and inventions enable
businesses to gain competitive edge in the industry along with gaining higher number of
customer base with huge loyalty towards the brand, its offerings and towards its betterment. A
business always emphasizes and develop a efficient roadmap for better and most effective
innovation to take place in all rightful manner and basis. In the report above this road map for
organisation is developed by considering industry analysis along with focusing over new
innovation plans and offerings going top be introduced in market. For these innovative options to
explore company needs to be developing innovative capabilities to which are explored too in the
examination and analysis performed.

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Apple Could Be Working on a Foldable iPhone for 2020. 2018. [Online]. Available Through:
<http://fortune.com/2018/03/23/apple-foldable-iphone/>.
Apple iCar to be launched in 2020, could potentially rewrite the mobility game. 2019. [Online].
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