Innovation and Commercialisation Report: A Business Perspective

This report examines the crucial aspects of innovation and commercialization within a business context, using Austin Fraser as a case study. It begins by differentiating between innovation and invention, emphasizing their importance for organizational growth. The report explores the contributions of vision, leadership, culture, and teamwork in fostering innovation and commercialization. It then delves into the 4Ps of innovation (product, process, position, and paradigm) and the innovation funnel, providing practical frameworks for developing innovative ideas. The concept of frugal innovation is discussed, highlighting its benefits and applications. Furthermore, the report analyzes the commercial funnel and the application of New Product Development (NPD) for commercialization. It also covers the importance of an innovation business case and concludes by examining various tools used by organizations to manage knowledge and protect intellectual property rights. This report offers valuable insights into business strategy and provides a comprehensive understanding of innovation and commercialization processes.

INNOVATION AND
COMMERCIALISATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Importance of innovation within an organization in comparison to invention................1
P2. Contribution of vision, leadership, culture and teamwork in shaping innovation and
commercialisation within organization..................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P3 4P's Innovation as well as use Innovation Funnel to develop Innovative Ideas...............3
P4 The concept of Frugal Innovation and its uses..................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P5 Commercial Funnel and its importance and application of NPD for the purpose of........5
commercialisation and innovation..........................................................................................5
P6 Innovation Business Case..................................................................................................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
P7 Various Tools used by Organizations for the purpose of developing, retaining and
protecting................................................................................................................................7
Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights..........................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Innovation is a crucial aspect for any business. For an organization to grow and prosper
going forward, it will have to keep on innovating in terms of its products and services. There has
been cases where Organizations have been actively innovating have gain more market share and
public appraisal than those companies which are not so keen in innovation. Austin Fraser is a
medium sized recruitment consultant company and therefore, need of innovation in such kind of
business is very large because in order to provide clients with the best possible facilities and
innovative way of recruitment in different sectors, company will have to keep on innovating on a
continuous basis (Baraldi and Waluszewski, 2011). Austin Fraser was established in the year
2006 with a staff of merely 2 people and now, it has grown to a staff of more than 100 people in
around 3 countries.
TASK 1
P1. Importance of innovation within an organization in comparison to invention
Both; innovation as well as invention are the major elements of any business organization
and if firm wants to grow and prosper in the future, it cannot keep on running on the same kind
of path. It will have to innovate in its various products and services that it provides so that there
are different options available with clients and customers. The aim of company is to match
various job seekers with the employers in industry of digital automation, aviation and life
sciences. Both innovation and invention are crucial aspects for every organization and it helps it
in achieving its objectives over a period of time and therefore, importance of both the things
should not be undermine by the company (Caniëls and van den Bosch, 2011). There is a real
distinction in between innovation and invention which is being discussed as below:
Innovation Invention
It basically refers to improve the existing
product line and services of company. For this
particular purpose, management of company is
using different types of technologies and
processes which help in increasing the features
in existing products and services. This process
helps in the attainment of competitive
It means a product or service is developed or
created for the first time by company and it
helps in attainment of necessary tasks with the
help of current new technologies and
processes.
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advantages by company. It also helps in
enhancement of profitability of company over
a longer period of time.
Innovation is basically providing better
solution to various problems which an
organization faces by using current resources
of the organization.
It is the process in which a new idea is
identified which helps company to accomplish
various targets effectively as well as
efficiently.
From the above discussion, it is quite clear that both Innovation and Invention are
important for business to grow and prosper and Austin Fraser Ltd. is no exception. Company is
finding new ways to innovate and provide better recruitment facilities. The firm tries to find out
needs and wants of its customers and then innovate and invent accordingly (Crossan and
Apaydin, 2010). It is of paramount importance that company should follow all rules of
innovation to meet the demand of its customers well.
P2. Contribution of vision, leadership, culture and teamwork in shaping innovation and
commercialisation within organization
The contribution of various factors like vision, culture, leadership as well as the
teamwork for organization is quite large. Basically, an organization is made up of these crucial
factors and it cannot grow and prosper without taking these factors into consideration. The
primary thing is that management of company should be aware of objectives of company for
which it is formed so that they would be able to guide various employees of the company as what
Customers expect from company and how company should work in order to achieve those
expectations. The cultural aspect also influence working of company as if there is any cultural
gap in between employees, it may lead to conflicts among them and that is not good for the
overall growth and productivity of the company (Edquist, 2010). So, culture should be
maintained as it is a motivating factor for the organization. Leadership and teamwork are also
crucial pillars which will boost the success of any organization. These aspects are discussed in
detail as follows: Vision : It refers to the vision of management and where company visualise itself in
future and what are the aims and objectives that it has set for itself which it should
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achieve to get to that vision in particular. It helps management of Organization to
describe employees about their roles as well as responsibilities so that goals of company
and vision can be successfully achieved. Culture: It is basically the environment which prevails within company and every
organization has a different culture within itself. Austin Fraser Ltd. is a medium sized
company and therefore, people who follow different kinds of culture are hired who make
the overall environment within organization positive. There are some rules and
regulations which are being framed by company and these needs are to be abided by all
employees so that a good atmosphere can be maintained within organization (Gray,
2011). Leadership: It is a crucial aspect of team work. A team without a leader is not a good
team and a team with a good leader but not carrying leadership skills is also not good for
the health of company over a longer period of time. Austin Fraser Ltd. relies on good
talented leaders for management and leadership of its teams.
 Teamwork: It means collectively working together to attain certain objectives of
company and for this, firm should hire capable team managers and give them proper
training for better management of teams.
TASK 2
P3 4P's Innovation as well as use Innovation Funnel to develop Innovative Ideas
The 4P's of Innovation are product, process, position as well as Paradigm. All these are
major and important points of innovation while making any improvement in current product
portfolio or if new kind of services are offered by the company it has to follow these points for
better results. These points are describes as below : Process Innovation : It refers to innovation in curette business process so that efficiency
can be achieved in the working of the company as well as productivity of organization
can be raised (Guan and Chen, 2010). Austin Fraser is a mid sized company and it wants
to grow its business to attain higher profitability this can be done only if the company
focus on achieving low cost and reducing its processes so that business can grow further. Product Innovation : It means innovation in the product itself of the company, it means
the product should be transformed in such a way that it full fills the demand and needs of
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the customers. It involves process of adding new kinds of features to the current products
to meed demands and needs of customers. Position Innovation : It refers to changing the position of the company and its outlets so
that more consumers and customers can be reached over a longer period of time. It refers
to establishing itself in the market in such a manner that it will grow business and market
share of the company in general. Paradigm Innovation : It refers to innovation in the overall shape of the company. It
refers to the change or innovation in the overall structure of the company. This
innovation helps and motivate employees to perform in a better and efficient manner for
the company. It provides employees a chance to use their own ideas so that new products
and new technologies can be developed with the help of them.
Innovation Funnel : It refers development of new and modern techniques to perform tasks.
There are three steps of Innovation Funnel, These are :
Wide of Mouth : It refers to new idea generation as well as as adoption of new information. Data
from Market are taken and are used to improve current products as well as services so that
customers can be provided with better quality of goods and services.
Selection of Idea : It refers to selection of the best possible idea from the alternatives available.
Implementation of Idea : This process means that the idea which is being selected by the
company is properly implemented by the company with the help of management as well as
employees of the organization (Huang and et. al., 2012).
P4 The concept of Frugal Innovation and its uses
Frugal Innovation : It basically means innovation by the company in least possible cost
these innovation may take place in operations, process, products or services of the company. The
aim of frugal innovation is to reduce the kind of complexities within the operations and to bring
efficiency in the operation of the organization. It helps in reduction of cost for the company in
longer run. If quality of operations is maintained through frugal innovation, it will help the
company to provide goods to its customer at best possible quality and at the most affordable
prices possible. This will also help company in achieving competitive advantage over the others.
The following are the benefits of Frugal Innovation : Reduction in the overall cost of Production : The management of Austin Fraser Ltd. Is
continuously aiming at making various strategies to develop new techniques of
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recruitment for the company. It is focusing on offering various other types of services to
customers which will help them in getting their desired jobs in desired industry. Adding New Feature : The main feature of innovating Frugally can be to remove the
kind of complexities which are there in the production and operational process and
adding up new features that will help in increasing the sales.
 Use of New Technology : It refers to Use of new technology by the management of
Austin Fraser for providing customers with good quality services (Ke, Fang, and et. al.,
2015). Use of different new technology helps the company in achieving excellence in its
operations and reducing the cost for company and thereby increasing the overall
profitability as well as the sales of the company.
TASK 3
P5 Commercial Funnel and its importance and application of NPD for the purpose of
commercialisation and innovation.
Commercial Funnel : It basically refers to playing with minds of customers with the help
of products and services of the company, it involves manipulation in goods and services and its
prices. It will help the company to retain its crucial customers over longer period of time. The
company makes changes in products and its features so that it can attract customers and retain
them with the company. The importance of Commercial Funnel can be describes as below : Research : It basically refers to research of Market and customer Preferences. It is very
crucial for the company as it helps it in providing information about the market to the
management of the company (Lin, 2010). Austin Fraser Ltd. Conducts various research
of the market to know about its competitors within the market and how it can do well to
attract customers. It also involves understanding about customer preferences so that
services can be modified according to the needs and demands of customers. Improved Quality of Product : It helps in an increase in quality of the product and
services of the company.
 Reduce Cost : Commercial funnel helps in reducing the overall cost of the company by
improving its operations with the help of use of new technology and it will also increase
the overall profitability of the company.
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New product development takes place after a lengthy process which involves various steps, these
steps are discussed as under : Generation of Idea : This is the very first step under this the idea to form a new product
is generated by the company. Austin Fraser Ltd. takes care of customer preferences while
developing and generating new idea for the company. Idea Screening : When there are lot of ideas from various sources which are available
with the company, the next step with the company is to screen the best possible idea
among those ideas which are available with the company (McCoy and et. al., 2010). The
most profitable and marketable idea is usually selected.
 Concept Testing : The concept or the idea is first tested in the market under this step. Market Strategy : It refers to making a marketing strategy for the concept which has been
developed by the company. Marketing strategy would involve the markets to be catered
and the approach that will be followed like aggressive, moderate etc. Business analysis : Analysis of the feasibility of new idea, whether it will be profitable. Product Development : In this, The idea is now converted into a new product. Test Marketing : It means Testing the Products which are being developed by the
company. These are tested in market and it is checked out whether it is gaining consumer
attention and there is demand for the product or not.
 Commercialisation : This is the last step of New product Development Stage, once the
Product which is being developed and tested in the market, it is ready to be
commercialised for business.
P6 Innovation Business Case
Austin Fraser is established in UK and is medium size enterprise, The company is
engaged in the business of providing Recruitment services to its customers. Its customers are
usually job seekers who wants to get employed (Micheli and et. al., 2012). The company is
constantly innovating in its services to make it easy for customers to reach to company and get
employed. The innovation business case of Austin Fraser can be described as follows :
Executive Summary : Austin Fraser Ltd. Is providing various solutions to customers. The
ultimate aim of the company is to reach to a level where the company will be leading in terms of
market shares in providing recruitment services in UK. The company has came up with a job
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portal where various employees can file their request regarding jobs and Employers can see them
on a real time basis. Need : It refers to assessment of various needs of customers with regards to products and
services of the company. It helps management of company to make business plans which
would cover all the strategies with regards to development of new product as per the
needs and demands of customers. Solution : This means various methods and techniques which the company provides as
the solution (Plewa and et. al., 2012). It helps in determination of effective pricing Policy
by the company for its various services that it provides to its customers. Research On customers : A research on customer needs to be done by the company so
that the expectations of customers regarding pricing and quality of various services can
be known and necessary modification regarding the same can be made. The client
feedback is of paramount importance for any company to innovate and make any changes
within the operation of company. Design and Development Plan : This involves Designing and development of a plan for
new products and services so that the company can full fill the demand of customers. It
includes assigning role to every department and employees regarding their tasks. It also
includes defining proper procedure by the management of company for the purpose of
implementation of different kind of management strategies.
 Investment Needed : It involves assessment by Austin Fraser Ltd. Of the scale on
investment that will be required for the purpose of innovating in new products and
services. For this management will have to analyse various ways through which it can
raise funds for company.
TASK 4
P7 Various Tools used by Organizations for the purpose of developing, retaining and protecting
Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights
It is the responsibility of every company that the knowledge and intellectual Property that
the company have innovate should be protected by it. This is done for securing rights from
outsider users and competitors. It is very crucial that the company should take necessary steps in
this regard else the innovation made by company may be misused by other companies as well as
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competitors. There are various kinds of tools which are there to get right on innovation that are
being made by the company, these are :
Patents : It saves company's innovation from outsiders, the company has to apply with
government to register their patents.
Trademark : It is a unique name through which the product is traded in market. This is also
needs to be registered in market. It is written on packaging of product and is represented with a
symbol of TM on product (Vishnevskiy, Karasev and Meissner, 2015). A company usually tries
to get the trademark of product as soon as the product is innovated and the name of the product is
selected.
Copyright : It basically means right on Books, websites etc. A outsider can not copy these things
without the permission of original innovator or user. If any person or company do so it will come
under copyright violation and he will have to go through various legal complications.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded after analysing the above report that there is a very crucial
requirement of innovation in business in now a days. A company can not survive in the field of
business if they wont consistently innovate in terms of their products and services. The company
needs to focus on improving process and operations of organization. The aim of company should
be to Reduce the cost of operations by continuously innovating in business. The concept of
innovation and commercial funnel has been discussed in detail in this report. The 4P's of
innovation has its own importance for the purpose of developing and innovating product and
process in company. The ability to innovate of a company will distinguish it from other
competitors and will give an edge to it over others and therefore the company should think of
Creating a separate department for Innovation. Usually R&D Department is rest with the
responsibility of innovation but the same should be reinvented more for the purpose of higher
and efficient innovation mechanism within the company.
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REFERENCES
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Micheli, P., and et. al., 2012. New business models for public-sector innovation: Successful
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Plewa, C. and et. al., 2012. Technology adoption and performance impact in innovation
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Vishnevskiy, K., Karasev, O. and Meissner, D., 2015. Integrated roadmaps and corporate
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Online
New Product Development Stages. 2017.[ONLINE]. Available through:
<http://productlifecyclestages.com/new-product-development-stages/>.
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