Business Strategy and Innovation

This assignment delves into the crucial connection between business strategy and innovation. It requires you to examine different types of innovation, understand their effects on firms, and analyze real-world examples illustrating this relationship. The provided reading materials offer insights into resource-based theory, innovation models, and the influence of business strategy on various aspects of a firm's operations.

Unit 8
INNOVATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Innovation, its importance and its comparison with invention...................................................3
P2 Factors that shape innovation and commercialisation in Organisation......................................4
TASK 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P3 4P's of innovation and use of innovation funnel........................................................................5
P4 Developments of Frugal Innovations.........................................................................................6
Source: - Frugal innovation, 2017........................................................................................................8
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................................8
P5 Commercial Funnel and use of new product development process in commercialisation.........8
P6 Business Case of JCW...............................................................................................................9
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................................9
P7 Tools used by organisation to retain, protect and develop knowledge and intellectual property
.........................................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Innovation means introducing something new in and different in the market place. It means
giving better solution for the issues and meeting new requirements in the existing market. It is
accomplished through effective technologies , processes or business models that are easily available
in the market or society. It is something original and effective and is a result of various ideas
combined together. The company referred here is JCW, which is a recruiting firm and is specialized
in hiring professionals in risk management, regulatory compliance and audit sectors and has
achieved rank 4 in this sector this year (Ackermann and Audretsch, 2013). This report will include
the detailed information about innovation and its types, difference between innovation and
invention, factors which help organisation in shaping innovation and commercialisation and 4P's
and innovating funnel. It will also discuss development in frugal innovation, importance of
commercial funnel and application of new product development process. An innovative business
case will also be developed and tools that organisation use to develop, retain and protect knowledge
and intellectual property in the organisation will also be analysed.
TASK 1
P1 Innovation, its importance and its comparison with invention
Innovation basically is a combination of invention and commercialisation. It a way of
translating the ideas into a product or service which produces value for the organisation. The
knowledge provided in innovation can either be market related or technological whereas
commercialisation can be defined as process in which the company adds value by executing the
idea into maturity stage and benefits the company's tangible and intangible assets. Innovation is
used to add value to the organisation either in terms of profit or through customers satisfaction. The
goals which are related to innovation are like improving the quality of the product, creativity I knew
market, reducing the labour cost, improving the process of production and many more (Acquaah
2013). The importance of innovation in organisation are as follows:-
 Innovation always brings changes in business models which helps the company to learn
something new always and opens various ways to produce the same product in different
forms.
 It also helps in bringing changes in tools of business communication which indirectly affects
the working in the company.

 It gives a competitive edge which is required in every company for growth.
 It also improves the problem solving processes.
 Increases the productivity of business.
Invention and innovation are different. Invention can be defined as creation of ideas or introduction
of a new product that has never been existed before whereas innovation is a process of converting
these ideas into product or a service (Campbell, Edgar and Stonehouse, 2011). Thomas Edison was
considered s an inventor not innovator. The basic difference between innovation and Invention are:-
S. no Invention Innovation
1 It happens when a person comes up with an
new idea about creating something that has
not be created before
It happens when the idea is developed to meet
the needs the needs of the customers.
2 It may bring changes in the organisation or
may not also.
It always bring changes in the organisation.
3 These activities are conducted in research
and development department of the
company.
Here, the activities are spread in whole
organisation.
4 Here only Scientific skills are required Here all the skill like marketing, sales,
technological etc. are required.
JCW is a recruiting firm in UK which means that it performs work of providing jobs to
various individuals. This work also requires lots of innovative techniques which are to be used by
the company to know which job is best for a particular person. Each person acts as a resource for
the company and therefore using the resources in correct place is very essential for the company.
The Apple group and The Virgin group is already very famous for their innovative skills and they
regularly try to invent as well as innovate new ideas and products in market.
Apple group is considered very innovative. It is because they only pick those projects which
they feel can make a difference. They have expanded into new product lines by realising the
vision's of company's system and design. They have a tag line which says that “we want to improve
without compromise” and on this mindset they have generated more than $215 billion in revenue
and $46 billion profit.
P2 Organisational leadership, vision, teamwork and culture shapes to innovation
Whenever an organisation plans to bring innovation in its products it is due to the changes
that are demanded by the customers or the improvement hat is required in the products. Once

innovation is done, it is not sure that the company will get successful in this because the success
rate if innovation in market is very low. Out of thousands of innovations done, only few are
successful in market rest all fails (Elliot, 2011). The reason due to which some innovation fails are
like:-
 poor communication skills towards the customers
 poor leadership skills
 poor organisational structure and many more.
It can be concluded from the above points that innovation is necessary but its success and
failure depends on company. If company is taking necessary steps to implement these innovations
then it will be very to bring changes in the organisation in a positive way.
Organisational Vision of JCW helps them to follow their objectives and leading to the final
stage. If an innovator knows what are the goals if the company then they will try their best to make
the products that best suits the organisational style and helpful in achieving the objectives of the
organisation slowly. They are helpful in giving direction to the company. Innovative ideas can
come from anywhere in the organisation may it the customers, partners, employees, marketing
experts, group of individuals (Higgins, Omer and Phillips, 2015). Anyone can provide an idea but it
is the responsibility of creativity team of the company to find out whether the ideas provided can be
implemented in the society or not. Innovation is considered as an absolute science which requires
lots of research before its application.
Leadership qualities in JCW or in a person also helps in shaping innovative ideas by
applying the ideas suggested by the innovator as they will suggest only those ideas which they
think are good for the company. The leaders of the organisation i.e. the top-level management helps
the innovators in making or producing ideas that are relevant for the development in the
organisation. They perform work of providing guidance to the people who give ideas to the
company for their growth.
Culture inside JCW also helps in bringing out new and innovative ideas from the employees
of company. If the company is from a traditional background so they will be more interested in
adopting the ideas or distributing the products in the market in a traditional way itself. Culture of
company is also a creation of someone's ideas which is being implemented. Customers taste and
preference also plays an important role in shaping the ideas because company will only make those
products or plans which are required or liked by the customers. Apple group is maintaining proper
organisational culture in their work environment. They do this by implementing effective
communication skills in their organisation , this will create an open environment which will further
help employees in sharing their isues to employer easily.
Team work can also help in developing so many ideas because when few people meet and

do discussion on various topics then lots of new ideas are generated. These types of activities are
generally conducted in companies so as to bring creativity factor in the employees. Apple group are
having good team leaders in them who have strong vision and abilities to find solutions of
problems that are existing in organisation. They are having one of the best methods for
implementing in organisation and that has made them successful also.
TASK 2
P3 4P's of innovation and use of innovation funnel
The concept of 4P's of innovation was invented by John Bessant and Joe Tidd. It was
developed to know that in which part of the organisation innovation is required and what changes
are to be done in the organisation. These types innovation helps in knowing that whether the
innovation is successful or not (Keltner, Clarke and Broersma, 2014). The 4p's are discussed as
under:-
 PRODUCT INNOVATION- It means bringing changes in the products of the company as
per the customer's demands ans requirements. It can be anything like increasing size or
adding a new ingredient or shape etc. for ex;- Godrej electronics are very famous all over
the world. They always try to bring something new in their products and whenever they
launch any of their product it is always loved by the audience. They make full use of
technologies which are loved by the audience as well (Montgomery, 2011).
 PROCESS INNOVATION- It is that type of innovation which focuses in those areas which
process the products to the customers. If the company tries to send all their products through
an innovative process then it will be very much useful for them and the customers as well
because it can help in increasing the efficiency of the company and the satisfaction level of
customers.
 POSITION INNOVATION:- It involves the activities that are conducted to reposition than
product in the market and introducing a new product. These types of innovations help the
company in supplying those products that are liked by the customers and bringing changes
that are required immediately.
 PARADIGM INNOVATION:- It deals with the matter related to execution of innovative
ideas in companies. The mental models that are shaped by the company for achieving the
goals are also affected by these types of innovations. They help organisations in planning
about how will the company organise themselves to sustain this innovation.
INNOVATION FUNNEL Is a type of funnel where all the ideas that are received by the company's
entered and those ideas which suits best in the organisation is selected. This is a very important

process that is implemented in almost all types of organisations. This happens because there are lots
of ideas that are rotating in an environment but it’s not possible to implement all and also getting
success after implementation is also definite. So, in order to save themselves from failure this
process is conducted. The process of innovation funnel is given below:-
 firstly, all the ideas are entered in refinery system tool,
 the company will desire to select more and more ideas because if they will have more ideas
then chances of producing more products increases. But only those ideas that matches with
the organisation structure is only selected.
 The ideas that are selected finally is later on implemented in company (Reich and Bombast,
2013).
P4 Developments of Frugal Innovations
These are that type of innovations which is conducted to reduce the complexity of the
products as well as decreasing the cost of goods and services. These types of innovation perform the
function of reducing the features that are not essential in the product. They are very helpful to the
society in decreasing the cost of products and then products made are generally environment
friendly because when the cost of production will be less than the cost of product will also be
reduced. There are various types if frugal innovation done around the world like Haier Washing
Machine “ the Mini Magical Child” in China, Toyota Charcoal Stove in Ghana, TATA Nano car in
India, Wonder bag in South Africa and many more. The detailed analysis of few of these
innovations are:-
 TATA Nano car:- This is considered as a revolutionary car in India because it was la7unched
at lowest price i.e. one lac rupees. It fulfilled the dream of every person of India who
wished to have a car (Scholes, 2015).
 TATA Swachh:- This was a considered as low-cost purifier or the low-income group people.
These were designed for those people who doesn't have access to good quality of water.
Developments in frugal innovation is very much in trend these days. All the companies want to try
these types of innovations in their products. The companies are trying to change their methods of
production and are utilizing less resources while preparing the product. This beneficial for both the
customers and company. These types of innovations are generally done by companies have an
exceptionally well creative team and they also want to do something for the society.
Frugal innovations can also be done in services and business models as well and not just
only in products. There are so many types of frugal innovations done in services also like mobile
phone banking is a very good example which is provided by various companies all over world. The
frugal innovations are also very much advertised in market although they don't need such

advertisements. People who use such products always praise it so through word of mouth only the
product is advertised. These types of innovations act as a game changer in the society . JCW which
is a recruiting firm also uses new ways to train their customers so that they get jobs easily. Apple
company is considered as best innovator in the world as they have introduced revolutionary changes
in technologies and improving them every year.
Source:- Frugal innovation, 2017
6 Principle of Frugal Innovation are:- Engage and iterate:Here, educated guess is done know consumer needs. It al starts with
observing customers and then considering how products can be made relevant as possible. Flex your assets: By using new tools and approaches, JCW can flex its production, service ,
logistics to satisfy customers demand. Create sustainable solutions: manufacturing managers and research and development
department have to ability to develop self sustaining solutions that will be helpful to both
business and environment. Shape customer behaviour: Companies should know how to shape behaviour of consumers
so that they feel more satisfied by consuming less. Co-create value with prosumers: 'Prosumers' are those people who collectively design,
Illustration 1: Frugal innovation

create , share the products and services they want from company. So, R&D department od
JCW will work to produce goods desired by prosumers.
 Make innovative friends: JCW can do collaboration with its external partners in order to
develop frugal products in company and various other business models as well.
TASK 3
P5 Commercial Funnel and use of new product development process in commercialisation
Companies are mainly focus on the range of products and services which they usually
deliver to their number of users. Thus, they have to maintain proper quality of products along by
using proper and appropriate raw material which used in manufacturing of products and services.
Thus, management have to render only quality based services to their users through which
appropriate and good brand image can be maintain. It is essential for an organisation to maintain
good brand image which will support in introducing new product at market. It is an essential
component which enable them in grab more market share and opportunities than their rivalries
(Schrader, Freeman and Seuring, 2012).
Commercial funnel is a process through which an entity identifies the best source to deliver
quality products and services at target market. Managers and innovators have to think about the best
channel of distribution which they can use in their betterment and growth as well. By using
commercial funnel, management become able to increase their sales by multiple times. By more and
more sale, management can generate more profit as compared to others (Slater, Olson and
Finnegan, 2011).
Along with this, another major thing in business is about their customer reach. Target
reaching of user group will only get done by using commercial funnel concept.
Thus, management have to use this concept in business, at the time when they are going to
introduce new product at market. For NDP, it is must for an entity to use commercial funnel process
for making the distribution process more easy and convenient.
New product development: Introducing new and innovative things at market is a major thing
on which every firm have to work. This is a part of innovation by establishing and setting new
goods and services for more and more consumer group. It enables a firm to maximise their
profitability for getting sustain at market in long term context. There are various concepts are
applying at target market and then utilise them for better and effective growth management.
Business organisation have to face many risk factors as well which are already present in market but
by removing them sustainability can gain. According to the example Apple and Virgin group
become leaders of market by working on all risk factor and complexity which is present in market

for them and then start selling innovative products to all user group.
STEPS OF NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS:-
Idea generation:
It is the first step of new product development process. It involves generating innovative
ideas and concepts that will help company . Ideas from different directions are invited and for this
JCW will have to conduct SWOT analysis. It will help company in finding its position.
Idea Screening:
It is the second stage- The purpose of idea generation is to create a large pool of ideas and
then selecting those which are worth of company's objectives. It helps in evaluating that will the
customers in the competitive market get benefit form the product or not.
Concept Development and Testing:
It presents the consumer with a proposed product and then consumer's perception is known
of and actual or potential product and measure attitudes as well as intention at this early stage of
development. This kind of prototype can help avoid costly mistakes.
Market strategy Development
It is the fourth step of new product development process. Here, a strategy is created which
consists of target market, planned product positioning and the sales, market share and profit goals
for first few years.
Business and financial analysis
It is related with estimate sales volume based upon size of market, estimate profitability and
break even point. It involves review of projected sales, costs and profits to know whether company
is able to satisfy customers or not.
Test marketing:
In this, marketer gets an opportunity to test their product in market. Its cost can be
enormous. It involves placing a product for sale in one or more selected areas by observing its
actual performance under the proposed marketing plan.
Commercialisation
Finally , here the product is introduced in market. It implements a total marketing plan and
facing high costa for manufacturing , advertising and promotion.
P6 Business Case of JCW
In many companies, innovative business case is very common. They help in defining the
purpose and objectives of company. While referring to the business cases of Apple Inc., they have
time gap policy so as to innovate new products and services in market.
This company is very innovative in providing services to its clients. There are various

benefits that are provided by JCW to its clients and these can't be copied by others. The services are
like they pay best in the industry than anyone else and they are giving holiday incentives to its
employees as an incentive and the destinations are also very cool like Las Vegas, NYC, Barcelona
etc. if the employee is having their birthday on the working day then employee can leave the office
early at 4 pm.
Business case of JCW is stated in the following steps -
 OBJECTIVES/MISSION – By defining objectives, the company tries to tell others what
they are aiming at and where they want to reach in future. The main objective of JCW is to
become the best recruiting and training agency in UK. They aims at providing best services
to the customers who will be coming in their agency to get jobs. The innovative idea that
JCW has come up with is that they will be providing virtual training to its clients so that
they can be trained from anywhere around the world and get jobs as per their likes and
dislikes.
 GATHERING INPUTS – In the second stage, inputs are gathered from various sources . In
some companies , people who are given the responsibility to handle whole organisation is
only told to gather resources for providing good services. Quality of resources used should
be very good because then only it will benefits the people who will avail their services. For
this, JCW will have to gather resources related to it like latest technologies, smart labs, etc.
so that they connect with the customers easily and deliver them efficient training. While
gathering inputs, company will also have to look after the Human resources that will be
required by company who will run the latest technology.
 ANALYSIS – In this stage, JCW will analyse all the data which they have gathered and then
a business model can be created by them. So, all those latest technologies that are collected
by them should be utilised for making a good training model through which clients will be
trained far away. Like for ex. It is well known that Microsoft is the leader in computer
systems and no other system are able to beat them. But then also they kept on innovating
and is still the best.
 RAISING FUNDS - JCW need to develop and evolve their services and products for
gaining new potential buyer as well as increasing sponsor. There are various monetary assets
which are responsible to manage the need of investments for the development. Since JCW is
a growing HR training company so they will require more funds in order to bring in useful
technologies inside the company. It is because all these technological assets are available at
high rates in market.
 RESULTS – Its the last stage in the business case. In this situation company knows that
what is their idea and the resources that will be used by them to successfully implement the

idea. Also funds that will be used is also pre-decided. After this, only its launch program is
left. In this step, JCW will finally install the virtual training software and computer inside
the company. After this they will be able to train the employees from this innovative step
taken by company.
So, in this way a business case is prepared.
INNOVATION MATRIX is shown as follows:-
Source: Innovation Matrix, 2017
TASK 4
P7 Tools used by organisation to retain, protect and develop knowledge and intellectual property
An organisation has variety of ideas with them and there are always chances that someone
may steal them or copy them (Tsamenyi, Sahadev and Qiao, 2011). There are various tools that are
used by the organisation for protecting their ideas from any kind of theft and to keep them safe and
sound. Whenever a product is launched which is very innovative then there are always chances that
the company will grow in this segment, so here in this situation companies should use such tools to
protect them. Intellectual property plays a very important role in gaining competitive advantage in
the market. The tools are:-
Illustration 2: Innovation matrix

Patents:- This is a right which is given to companies when they invent a new product in the
market. It is an exclusive right which is also given when a new way of doing something or new
techniques of problem solving is invented. The time period for which patent is allotted is 20 years.
It can be extended further (Verbeke, 2013).
Trademarks:- These are the different designs that are assigned to products. It acts as their
identification mark. It can be in any form like symbols , word, diagrams, signs etc. its term period is
10 years and can be renewed later on.
Copyrights:- It includes the rights that are given to people for their excellence in literary
and artistic work. It can be in the form of poems, writings, songs, acts etc. ideas and facts are not
included in this.
Trade secrets:- Some ideas in the company are treated as trade secrets i.e. neither hey are
patented nor they are told to public. They are patented but at later stage.
Since JCW doesn't produce any kind of product but it prefers various services that are
unique from other recruiting firm , which makes them best in market. Therefore, these types of
services can be patented by the company so that no one can copy them. Apple co. has its products
and services patented because they are the best in the market and every company tries to copy them
but by these tools of intellectual property rights, Apple is preserving themselves.
CONCLUSION
From this report it is concluded that innovation is a very creative process which is required
in every type of companies. The report includes the details about what is innovation and its
importance in companies. It also discusses the comparison between innovation and inventions along
with the factors of organisation which are responsible for shaping innovative ideas in the
organisation like its vision, leadership, culture etc. it also includes 4P's of innovation along with
innovation funnel and the developments of frugal innovation in the society and some of the
examples of frugal products are also mentioned in this report. The importance of commercial funnel
and the application of process of new product development is also included in this report. The tools
that are used by organisation to protect its intellectual property and its knowledge and an innovative
business case of JCW is also discussed here.

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Online
Difference between innovation and invention.2017.[Online].Available
through:<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-grasty/technological-inventions-and-
innovation_b_1397085.html>.[Accessed on 27 September 2017]