Innovation Report: ROLI, SME, Music Technology Industry

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of innovation, focusing on its significance and differentiation from invention. It examines the role of organizational culture, vision, and leadership in fostering innovation and commercialization, using ROLI, a music technology company, as a case study. The report delves into the 4Ps of innovation, the application of innovation funnels, and the development of frugal innovation strategies. Furthermore, it explores the significance of the commercial funnel and new product development processes, including a business case for ROLI. Finally, it discusses tools and strategies for retaining, developing, and protecting intellectual property rights. The report covers various aspects of innovation management, providing insights into how companies can foster creativity, develop new products, and achieve commercial success.

INNOVATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Significance of innovation and its difference with invention................................................1
P2 Role of organisational culture, vision and leadership in shaping innovation and
commercialisation.......................................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P3 4P's of innovation and use of innovation funnel for generating and examining innovative
ideas.............................................................................................................................................3
P4 Development of frugal innovation.........................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P5 Significance of commercial funnel and new product development.......................................5
P6 Innovation business case for ROLI........................................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7 Tools which help company in retaining, developing and protecting intellectual property
rights............................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
.......................................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
An organisation have to develop new ideas and work on different thoughts so they can
innovate services and products and run their business in right direction (Difference Between
Invention and Innovation, 2016). Innovation is basically making modification in a product,
system or service and develop something which is new for public (Aarikka-Stenroos and
Sandberg, 2012). This project is based on a London based company, ROLI. This organisation is
running their business in music technology industry and they have develop some very innovate
products like Seaboard, also known as future Keyboard. ROLI is a SME and around 200 people
are working in this firm. This file will contain content about different between innovation and
invention. It will also talk about various factors like culture of firm, leadership etc. which
promote innovation in the enterprise. 4P's of innovation and frugal innovation will be explained
in this assignment. Few concepts like new product development and tools of gaining intellectual
property right will get discussed at the end of this report.
TASK 1
P1 Significance of innovation and its difference with invention
Whenever new idea or product enter in society then it is simply known as innovation.
Their are various sources of innovation which are as follows:
Unexpected – All the business and other type of organisation conduct activities relating
to research and development. At the time of doing different experiments, they get unexpected
outcomes which sometime result in unexpected innovation. Their is no guarantee that the
innovation help company in attaining their goals.
Process need – Right process is key to desirable result. If an organisation is not
performing to their expectation then they try to make changes in their their working procedure.
They have to add or subtract something from their present working system which ultimately
become a source of innovation (Bagchi-Sen, 2011).
Change in perception – Perception is the way of a person or organisation about what is
their opinion on something. Their are few enterprise who were against automation but when they
saw other companies at using this new technology then their perception got changed and they
also started concentrating on innovative systems which can be used in their organisation.
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New knowledge – Whole world is trying something new and doing research in whatever
field they are operating. When they release news about what new they have found or developed
then it allow other firms to add and innovative something new because of the new knowledge
(Bogers and West, 2011). Apple and Virgin group has used different sources of innovation for
earning competitive advantage on their rivals. Innovation may give an organisation extra edge
but invention is something which make them unique. Invention is creation of new device,
process or method which come first time in this world and it is beyond the imagination of people.
It comparison with innovation is as follows:
Innovation Invention
Innovation can be done by modifying a product
or service.
Invention happens when inventor create
completely new product or system. It is
something which has not come in the mind of
people.
One of the main purpose of innovation is
commercialisation.
Their is no surety that it get commercialise.
Innovation can only happen if company or
employees have sound technical knowledge.
Invention cannot be done if a person do not
have high curiosity.
Eg. Smartwatch is an innovation. Eg. Creating a device which shows time i.e.
clock is an invention.
Importance of innovation
 Innovation play crucial role in developing a better product of service for an organisation.
ROLI used it for creating Seaboard which is not they key product and has significant
contribution in companies revenue.
 Innovation forces employees of the company to think out of the box. This expands skills,
knowledge and limits of the employees and help them in attaining fast promotions.
P2 Role of organisational culture, vision and leadership in shaping innovation and
commercialisation
Doing innovation require some motivation which sometime employees of the firm get
from their leaders or culture of the enterprise. Below are few factors which shapes innovation:
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Organisation vision – Innovation is part of Apple's vision. This company want to make
great products and they can do it by doing continuous innovation. ROLI want to produce musical
instruments for future and develop new technology in the industry where they are operating. This
vision is motivating employees of company for innovation (Bogers and West, 2012).
Leadership – Virgin group is best example of leadership which allow employees of this
company to use their creative mind and do innovation for company. ROLI also have a strong and
fresh leadership and this company has improved version of democratic leadership style i.e.
employees have a freedom to make most of the decisions at the time of working on a new
product or idea.
Culture – Their are few companies who concentrate on innovation when they feel that
they are losing market share. But there are companies like Apple who have a culture of
innovation in the organisation. This company is highly dependent on their innovation and their
culture is prime source of the innovation which they are doing without taking any pause. ROLI
also have same kind of culture but they lack aggressiveness which is present in Apple.
Teamwork – Virgin group is present in many industries because this company firmly
believe in teamwork. They understand that a single person have limited knowledge and creativity
but if more people will use their mind and work on an idea or product then company can gain
better results. Their is no doubt that teamwork promote innovation. ROLI also have various team
and at the time of working on a problem, this company make teams so they can come with better
and more innovative ideas (Ettlie and Rosenthal, 2012).
TASK 2
P3 4P's of innovation and use of innovation funnel for generating and examining innovative
ideas
4Ps of innovation are product, process, position and paradigm. Every organisation make
innovate various services, gadgets and system and in order to understand them in a better way,
one can divide innovation in these P's. Below are 4P's:
Process innovation – Companies have different systems and procedures in the
organisation which assist them in doing their work properly (Walsh, 2012). ROLI can improve
the process of which they use for targeting their customer i.e. instead doing social media
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marketing, they can focus on making a process where they give equal importance to sponsorship
activities and other types of promotions.
Product innovation – Seaboard is main product of ROLI and it is an example of product
innovation. This company focused on smoothness, design and touch responsive surface at the
time of making this product.
Position innovation – Introducing same product in different segment or market is known
as position innovation. Reposition need lot of creative and ROLI can reposition their Seaboard if
it start losing its charm in present market.
Paradigm innovation It is change in thinking process which motivate a person to start
thinking in a completely different way. Henry Ford used this innovation at the time of giving
something new to this world. He never thought about making a horse with 8 legs, he thought of a
machine which is more powerful than horse and can carry more people from one place another.
The significance of innovation funnel is continuously enhancing because it is helping
companies in surviving and proceeding in highly competitive business environment
(Gambardella and McGahan, 2011). Their are various steps which are involved in innovation
funnel but they can be divided into three steps. First is collection of ideas from all the available
sources i.e. from employees, experts etc. If company will get more ideas then they will not face
the problem of less option and they can chose suitable idea from available ones. Next step is to
start screening them and check their feasibility, sustainable and how much contribution can
chosen idea give to company so organisation can move forward toward their aim. Last step is to
execute the chosen idea so company can develop fresh product and services. ROLI has to make
sure that they do not ignore last step and give special attention to it because it is deciding factor
and it play an important role in delivering results.
P4 Development of frugal innovation
Frugal innovation is known as application of creative ideas for removing various kind of
elements which enhancing cost of business. Frugal innovation has various development stages
and they are as follows:
Engage and repeat – A company can avail benefit of single innovation for a long period
of time i.e. they do not need to innovate new products every months, they can repeat same
process for producing own products. ROLI can continuously making Seaboard (their innovation)
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after making necessary modification in it. They do not need to make a new musical instrument
every months in order to gain market share.
Bend your assets – ROLI do not have deep pockets, this is the core reason that they have
to manage their resources in best possible way. Right now company is investing huge amount of
money on advertising their products but they have to think about investing a decent sum on
research and development so company can get financially strong and execute new plans relating
to innovation (Godin, 2012).
Sustainable solution – ROLI are coping up with different types of problems. Frugal
innovation strongly believe in finding sustainable solution of a problem and this is why ROLI
take more time in resolving an issue because they know that they if they are working on a
solution that it should resolve the problem on permanent basis.
Shape customer behaviour – ROLI has make regular interaction with customers so they
can analyse their needs and make their products and services accordingly. ROLI is deciding
behaviour of their customers but fulfilling their needs.
Provide value for money to customers – If an innovation does not reduce cost and meet
expectation of customers then significance get down. ROLI is making sure that they do not only
sell innovative product, they are also focusing on best customer experience (Thore, 2012).
Innovative stakeholders – ROLI stakeholders give creative suggestions to the company
so they can modify their products and services. They are playing significant role in rapid and
aggressive innovation. Workers, suppliers and customers are key stakeholders of this company
(Huizingh, 2011).
TASK 3
P5 Significance of commercial funnel and new product development
Surviving in this business world is not possible if company do not introduce new
products on continuous basis. Below are the steps which are involved in new product
development (NPD):
Generation of thought – Innovation is nowadays directly connected to
commercialisation. ROLI developed Seaboard when the idea of making a new instrument came
in the mind of founders. An organisation can have million of thought and they should not say no
to more ideas (Schoonmaker and Carayannis, 2011).
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Idea screening – ROLI cannot invest money in every idea which they get so they have to
start screening all of them in order to check which one is best for company. They have to focus
on every aspects like profitability, feasibility etc.
Testing and development – One best idea is selected then next step is to test it by
developing its sample or getting a demo. This help company is finding various flaws which are
present in new product, service or system.
Product development – After removing all the possible flaws in a product, company have
to start it production so they can deliver the product to the customers (Kim And et.al., 2011).
Commercialisation – The process of making a product marketable is equally important
compared to commercialisation. ROLI also have to think about aggressive marketing of their
Seaboard.
Launching – This final step is related to showing introducing real product in the market.
It can be done by adopting various modes like organise event.
Commercial Funnel and its importance
Commercial funnel provide knowledge to an organisation about how much money they
can earn from Implementation of an idea. The first step of commercial funnel is to collected all
the plans and ideas which company can consider for increasing their profits. Once they evaluate
all the thoughts then next part of this process is check profitability and return rate of every idea
so managers can choose best. The last part of commercial funnel is to select suitable plan which
does not contain high risk and investment (Wonglimpiyarat, 2011). ROLI can avail various kind
of benefits by assuring optimum utilisation of this funnel. Importance of commercial funnel is
mentioned below:
 Increment in profit and salary - Employees understand that when company will gain
benefit from innovation and commercialisation then it will make a positive impact on
their salaries.
 Promote creativity – Working on an idea which should be new and highly profitable is a
big challenge for every company. In order to overcome this challenge, manager ask their
subordinates to use their mind and creativity so company can attain their set goals (Lindič
and et.al., 2011).
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P6 Innovation business case for ROLI
ROLI is a new organisation with an aggressive mindset. They want to reform music
technology industry by introducing some innovative products like Seaboard. Below is business
case for ROLI:
Executive summary – ROLI believes that change is the part of nature and this company
is continuously working on different innovative ideas like Seaboard so they bring the change
which this world really need.
Target – Profession musicians are key target of firm. Professional keyboard players
would be main target for the Seaboard. This is company's main product and they will try to sell it
to all the people who are interested in trying new keyboard i.e. its substitute.
Solution – ROLI has to focus on one thing i.e. their innovation and mobile services
should be easy to use. If they will not add complicated features in their products then they can
easily promote and sell their products (Rafinejad, 2011).
Why product is innovative – Seaboard is a unique product because it is touch responsive
and its design is completely knew. People never thought of an instrument who can substitute
keyboard and become a better product. Seaboard have many unique features which make is very
innovative.
Customer research – ROLI has to invest lot of money in conducting market research so
they can target right people and segment. Their are many professional in music technology
industry who what to buy new technology in bulk but company have convince them that this
their Seaboard is not going to outdate any time soon and if will get updated in regular interval of
time. Customer research is very important in present scenario because of the fast changes which
is continuously happening in this industry.
Funding – ROLI do not have much financial resources and they have to seek more than
one option. Company can opt the option of bank loan because they can get any amount of
funding from them but they have to pay interest on it. Angel investor is another key option for
them, they can use it for assuring that company get more amount without getting extra burden of
interest.
Expected benefits – High profit and revenue is the main advantage of expected benefits.
Company who do innovation also enjoy a good image.
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TASK 4
P7 Tools which help company in retaining, developing and protecting intellectual property rights
Every company want to save their innovation from the issue of copying or stealing. They
understand that if they will not get legal rights on their work then it can create big from for them
in long run. Below are few key tools which company use:
Patent – All the companies who is operating in a business which is directly or indirectly
connected to the technology prefer to get patent for their innovation (Teece, 2011). This
exclusive right of install a feature in their product provide them extra edge on their rivals because
others cannot install particular feature in their product without giving asked amount to the patent
holder company. ROLI can also get patent on various features on their Seaboard so they do not
have face any legal trouble when someone claim that particular feature is innovated by them. If
ROLI feel that they need more money for the business then they can sell their patent to some
other company. ROLI has to pay some amount if they want to renew their patent right.
Trademark – This sign shows the uniqueness and name of the company who has develop
the product. ROLI has to get trademark so they can clearly make public understand that Seaboard
belong to them and even if other company is making similar product then it will not same quality
and features which is present in a product which has ROLI trademark.
Copyright – This tool is normally given to the creator of the work. ROLI can use this
right so they can prove their customer that they are founders of Seaboard and no one can make
this product better then them. Copyright can play crucial role in assuring the company win a case
in court if they face any problem regarding whose innovation is Seaboard. Another benefits of
copyright that it can be distributed by firm (Snow And et.al., 2011). They can easily get huge
sum against the copyright of Seaboard. Copyright is also granted for a fix period of time so
company has to make sure that they renew it when it get expires otherwise the legal power which
copyright give them will get finish.
CONCLUSION
At the end, it can be concluded that innovation and invention are two completely
different concepts. Their are different sources of innovation and every organisation take support
of one which suits them. Innovation can be inspired by leadership of company or the culture
which is present in it. Innovation and frugal funnel is used by companies so they can introduce
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new product in the marketplace without increasing cost of business by significant amount.
Commercial innovation has various merits which provide assistance to company in increasing
their market share. New product development has various important steps and all of them has
different significance.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aarikka-Stenroos, L. and Sandberg, B., 2012. From new-product development to
commercialization through networks. Journal of Business Research. 65(2). pp.198-206.
Bagchi-Sen, S., 2011. Strategic considerations for innovation and commercialization in the US
biotechnology sector. European Planning Studies. 15(6). pp.753-766.
Bogers, M. and West, J., 2011. Contrasting innovation creation and commercialization within
open, user and cumulative innovation.
Bogers, M. and West, J., 2012. Managing distributed innovation: Strategic utilization of open
and user innovation. Creativity and innovation management. 21(1). pp.61-75.
Ettlie, J.E. and Rosenthal, S. R., 2012. Service innovation in manufacturing. Journal of Service
Management. 23(3). pp.440-454.
Gambardella, A. and McGahan, A. M., 2011. Business-model innovation: General purpose
technologies and their implications for industry structure. Long range planning. 43(2).
pp.262-271.
Godin, B., 2012. “Innovation Studies”: The Invention of a Specialty. Minerva, 50(4). pp.397-421.
Huizingh, E.K., 2011. Open innovation: State of the art and future perspectives. Technovation.
31(1). pp.2-9.
Kim, S. K. And et.al., 2011. The effect of R&D, technology commercialization capabilities and
innovation performance. Technological and Economic Development of Economy. (4).
pp.563-578.
Lindič, J., and et.al., 2011. Deploying information technologies for organizational innovation:
Lessons from case studies. International Journal of Information Management. 31(2).
pp.183-188.
Rafinejad, D., 2011. Innovation, product development and commercialization: Case studies and
key practices for market leadership. J. Ross Publishing.
Schoonmaker, M. G. and Carayannis, E. G., 2011. Assessing the value of regional innovation
networks. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. 1(1). pp.48-66.
Snow, C. C. And et.al., 2011. Organizing continuous product development and
commercialization: the collaborative community of firms model. Journal of Product
Innovation Management. 28(1). pp.3-16.
Teece, D. J., 2011. Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range planning.
43(2). pp.172-194.
Thore, S. A. ed., 2012. Technology commercialization: DEA and related analytical methods for
evaluating the use and implementation of technical innovation. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Walsh, P. R., 2012. Innovation nirvana or innovation wasteland? Identifying commercialization
strategies for small and medium renewable energy enterprises. Technovation. 32(1).
pp.32-42.
Wonglimpiyarat, J., 2011. Commercialization strategies of technology: lessons from Silicon
Valley. The Journal of Technology Transfer. 35(2). pp.225-236.
Online
Difference Between Invention and Innovation. 2016. [online]. Available
through:<http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-invention-and-innovation.html>.
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