Analyzing Innovation and Commercialization at Samsung Electronics

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of innovation and commercialization strategies at Samsung Electronics. It begins with an introduction to innovation, differentiating it from invention, and highlighting its importance to organizations. The report delves into how Samsung's vision, leadership, culture, and teamwork shape innovation and commercialization processes. It then explores the 4Ps of innovation (Product, Process, Paradigm, and Position) and the application of the innovation funnel. Further, it discusses frugal innovation and its implementation within Samsung. The report also examines the commercial funnel and the New Product Development (NPD) process for commercializing innovations, including an innovation business case. Finally, it covers tools and methods for protecting knowledge and intellectual property, offering a complete overview of Samsung's approach to innovation and commercialization.

INNOVATION AND
COMMERCIALIZATION
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
P1. Innovation and its importance to organizations in comparison with invention.................................3
P2. How Samsung’s vision, leadership, culture and teamwork would shape innovation and
commercialization...................................................................................................................................6
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................................7
P3. 4Ps of innovation and the use of the innovation funnel to examine and shape innovative ideas.....7
P4. Developments in frugal innovation and how it is used in Samsung Electronics.................................9
TASK 3........................................................................................................................................................10
P5. Importance of the commercial funnel and the application of New Product Development (NPD)
processing for commercialization of innovation....................................................................................10
P6. Innovation Business Case for Samsung Electronics..........................................................................11
TASK 4........................................................................................................................................................13
P7. Different tools for Samsung Electronics to develop, retain and protect knowledge and intellectual
property.................................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Innovation refers to any new add-on feature that adds value to existing offerings of an
organization. It is of vital importance for firms that aim to capture a bigger market and increase
the number of customers. The following report is based on the role of innovation in Samsung
Electronics Co. Ltd. which is multinational company which deals in home appliances, semi
conductors and consumer electronics. The company is situated in Suwon, South Korea and is one
of the leading companies in electronic industry. Currently, the firm plans to maximize its ROI
within the next 12 months. For this, the company is planning to implement innovation and
commercialization in their organizational culture. The report covers concept of innovation and its
difference with invention and an explanation of different types of innovation. It also discusses
the process of commercializing innovation and evaluation of the range of methods for protecting
ideas.
TASK 1
P1. Innovation and its importance to organizations in comparison with invention
Before starting with the answer give a brief introduction of your chosen organization and its key
activities
Innovation: Any fresh idea that adds value to the existing products and services of the
company by introducing creativity is termed as innovation. Managers and leaders at Samsung
Electronics must ensure this creativity in their employees as well as production process so that
the firm could increase their customers all around the world and maximize their Rate of
Investment (ROI)
Invention: This refers to the production and development of a unique and a new product
by a company which has never been created before (West and Bogers, 2014). For instance, the
Curved LED TV by Samsung Electronics was the first of its kind. It contributes towards creating
a whole new market for the firm and enhances its customer base.
Both the terms are equally important for Samsung Electronics to retain its market stature
and improve its competitive position in the market. In addition to this, it helps to enhance the
creativity of employees and they become more productive and committed towards the
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firm.However, there is a vast difference between innovation and commercialization which is
discussed before.
BASIS INNOVATION INVENTION
MEANING
Innovation means
improvement in existing
goods and services of a
company by adding value to
it,
Invention is the creation of
something that doesn’t exist
yet. It means that the creator
has a completely new offering
for the market.
SKILLS NEEDED
For innovation, it is necessary
that technical, strategic as
well as marketing skills are
present in the company’s
employees.
For invention, presence of
scientific skills is very
important in employees to
create a product or service
which is unique and new.
OCCURRENCE
Innovation occurs when a
need arises to improve and
enhance performance of the
firm’s existing offerings.
The idea that strikes the
inventors or the scientists
working in a company, become
the cause for invention in
organizations.
LIMITATION
Process of innovation could
apply to all the existing
services and products of an
organization.
Process of invention, however,
is limited to a single service of
product of a company.
Samsung Electronics Co. is a global leader in electronic products in the world. It has a
worldwide market and customers tend to consume every innovative product or service the firm
has to offer. There are different sources of innovation that could be an advantage for the firm.
These are mentioned below: Industry and Market Structure Change: Electronic industry is is one of the most
dynamic industries in the world. The industry witnesses various changes almost everyday
which is a major cause for innovation in Samsung Electronics.
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 Changes in Perceptions: Perception of consumers is forever changing. The firm needs to
develop new products to satisfy these demands.
 Technological Advancements: With more exploration in technological upfront, it is
crucial for the company to innovate in order to cope up with the advancements and gaina
competitive edge.
There are stages in which innovation is developed, embedded and measured in Samsung
Electronics which are mentioned below:
 The first stage requires identification of goals and objectives that defines a framework
upon which the firm has to perform.
 The second stage requires the innovation process to be positioned. Initial strategies are
corrected so that innovation is relatively low cost and according to market trends.
 To critically evaluate the process of innovation, it is required that Samsung Electronics
analyze past and current innovation performance, the abilities to create a profitable value
from innovation, and future innovation potential.
The importance of innovation in the company is briefly discussed below: Effective response to unforeseen situations: Innovation allows the companies to prepare
for unforeseen situations. It enhances their capabilities to forecast the future and create
products and services for tomorrow. For instance, Samsung Electronics are creating
televisions that do not emit harmful radiation so that in future their customers stay
healthy. Reduction of complexity: There is an ongoing occurrence in complex situations
electronic industries. Innovative production methods would allow Samsung Electronics
to deal with their complex situations easily. Competition: With intense rivals already present in the industry like Apple, Panasonic,
etc., the threat of competition is everlasting for Samsung Electronics. This is because not
just these companies, but new firms with agile and lean methods are continuously
entering the market. Innovation would give the firm a stronger competitive advantage in
front of these competitors which would enhance its sustainability in the market.
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 Establishing innovative culture: Innovation causes the employees to think differently
and enhances their creativity. Samsung Electronics would establish a culture with the
help of innovation that would regulate this flow of new and innovative ideas in its
employees.
P2. How Samsung’s vision, leadership, culture and teamwork would shape innovation and
commercialization
Process through which new product or service of an organization is introduced in the
market is known as commercialization. This process is responsible for building a perception of
the product or service presented by the company to its customers. Following is the influence of
Samsung’s vision, leadership, culture and teamwork in shaping up innovation and
commercialization. Vision and Innovation: Samsung’s vision statement says, “Inspire the world, create the
future.” The company is known to work in a manner that this vision is fulfilled. The
managers of the firm must communicate this vision to their new and existing employees
to enhance the innovation happening in the company currently. Culture and Innovation: Culture plays a vital role in innovation. It is very important that
creative practices get recognition and encouragement in a company. Samsung’s approach
in enhancing this creativity in their employees is a bit different. The firm has established
a lab by the name of Samsung C-Lab (short for Creative), where company gives its
employees tools to work on their own business ideas (How Samsung Helps its Internal
Innovators to Spread their Wings, 2018). Such practices encourage their creativity which
contributes to the company’s success. Leadership and Innovation: Leaders and managers at Samsung Electronics are
responsible to push their team towards enhancing their innovative capabilities. They
ensure that each employee working under them give their contribution towards the
company’s innovation processes.
 Teamwork and Innovation: Teamwork is essential as no task in a magnanimous
company like Samsung Electronics could be accomplished at an individual level. Each
activity in the company requires teamwork to be completed effectively. It is necessary
that employees indulge in effective teamwork and take ideas and innovative concepts of
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each other into consideration. This will allow the firm to increase development of their
innovative products and services.
TASK 2
P3. 4Ps of innovation and the use of the innovation funnel to examine and shape innovative ideas
Innovation is implemented by organizations to make their products and services more
useful. Without innovation, firms would fail to sustain in a dynamic environment. To analyze
and evaluate the process of innovation, 4Ps of innovation is used to help companies effectively
modify their products and services. These Ps help the companies in evaluating the current state
of their offerings and help them improve these existing products and services. The 4Ps of
innovation are mentioned below: Product: In this mix, product means the actual service and offering created by the
employees of the company. According to this approach, creativity is not just limited to a
person or process, rather the product itself possesses the characteristics which could
contribute in generation of creative ideas. Samsung Electronics must ensure that this
creative characteristic is present in every product developed by the company. Process: This refers to the process used by the employees to create innovative services
and products. It means the production as well as distribution process for development of
the products as well as its positioning in the market. Managers and leaders at Samsung
Electronics must consider hiring skilled employees and give them effective training and
development to ensure effectiveness of their performance. This would contribute in
achieving the desired alterations by the firm. Paradigm: This P of innovation deals with all the paradigms associated with Samsung
Electronics. The paradigm shift in terms of technology would be taken by the
organisation into consideration. However, emphasis of the company must be on assessing
the radical changes, for which, measures must be taken by the organisation which allows
to introduce change in a positive and effective manner. Position: This undertakes the perception of the company within its organisational
structure as well as outside its inner circle. This could undertake the salaries which are
provided to employees by the company and the products which are being offered to the
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customers. Through this element, the focus of organisation must be on development of a
positive and contributing perception of the organisation amongst its stakeholder as well
as the wider market.
Use of innovation funnel in Samsung Electronics
All the steps required for production of a product or services are described in an innovation
funnel (Sengoku, 2015). The agenda of Samsung Electronics for using this concept is to produce
those offerings that match needs of the market. There are four major stages of innovation funnel
used by Samsung Electronics that are described below: Opportunity Assessment: The organization analyzes the market needs through online
questionnaires which determine the customer expectations from the company and their
needs. This becomes an opportunity for the firm to introduce a new offering in the
market. Insights-based ideation: After the identification of the most appropriate opportunity, the
next step considers ideation of different offerings that could be offered to the market to
satisfy their needs Conceptualization: This stage undertakes the designing of actual concepts based on the
most apt ideas derived from the ideation stage. Evaluation and Benchmarking: These different concepts are tested in the market and the
satisfaction levels of the customers are then evaluated. Go/No Go: After detailed evaluation, the concept which received maximum positive
response from the customers is selected in this stage.
 Launch: Finally, the product or service is launched in the market.
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(Source: Innovation Funnel, 2016)
P4. Developments in frugal innovation and how it is used in Samsung Electronics
Frugal innovation refers to the process which reduces unnecessary costs and decreases
the complexity from the offerings of the company. It helps the firms to be more advanced
technologically which helps them to improve their competitive position in the market (Mazzarol
and et. al., 2014). It also provide assistances to retain more customers which could enhance their
customer base. In addition to this, cost reduction would enhance productivity and profitability of
the firm. This model could best serve companies that lack in resources. For a company like
Samsung Electronics, frugal innovation could help the firm increase its Rate of Investment
(ROI). One such innovation for the company could be use of holographic technology. It could be
a complete standout for the firm in the field of innovation. Moreover, it would save the firm the
costs incurred in buying hardware for televisions.
Frugal innovation could really help the company in getting ahead of the competition.
Moreover, it improves the strategy making of the company. Samsung Electronics could use
effective ways to promote this holographic technology and stay ahead of the competition.
In frugal innovation, advanced technology is implemented which enhances the way
people perceive the offerings of the company. Samsung Electronics could really increase the
importance of its new products by making them simpler and cheaper (Manso, 2011). This would
enable the company penetrate new markets and more people would access the advanced
technology used by the company. Through frugal innovation, company would enhance customer
awareness about latest technological advancements happening around them.
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Illustration 1: Innovation Funnel

TASK 3
P5. Importance of the commercial funnel and the application of New Product Development
(NPD) processing for commercialization of innovation
Commercial funnel refers to the sales stages that customers go through while purchasing
the offering of a company. It is also known as sales or revenue funnel and the idea behind this
concept is that almost all the buyers go through similar processes altogether while buying a
commodity or a service. Efficiency of this commercial funnel could be well evaluated by
companies from the prospects determined in each stage.
This concept is really important for Samsung Electronics and could shape up the
operations in the company. This is because for any firm, it is important to expand their circle so
that more potential buyers could fit in. Samsung Electronics wants to maximize its Rate of
Investment and profitability in the market. For this purpose, the company is planning to
introduce a new product in the UK market. The electronic industry is getting more popular in the
country as well as the world and more customers wants to enhance their experience of viewing
content on television. With rise in technologies like OLED, quantum-dot and 4K; a new wave of
excitement and need in the customers to access these technologies has been witnessed lately
(Hemphill, 2014). To fulfil this need and provide a great experience to the customers, the
company is planning to build ‘Samsung Pocket H-TV’ which would be a holographic television
as small as a pen-drive. Viewers would only need to place it near a wall, and with just a switch, it
would give a full 42-inch 4K display. This display would be crystal clear regardless of the
texture or paint of the wall. Such high inclination towards technology would enhance the
customer base of the company. Moreover, it would attract customers all over the world. The
company could really use this product as an opportunity to overtake its competitors like
Panasonic and LG. The company must concentrate on effective commercialization to capture a
bigger market share (Hang Do and et. al., 2014). The stages of commercial funnel for New
Product Development (NPD) are as follows: Idea Generation: The initial stage of NPD emphasizes on the generation of new and
innovative ideas that could help the company in maximizing its ROI. At this stage, the
firm would introduce various innovative concepts like that of H-TV (short for
Holographic Television).
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 Idea Screening: This stage requires the company to measure the feasibility of each new
idea for NPD. Through effective screening, the company found the idea of H-TV the
most suitable for their purpose (Greenaway and Rudd, 2014).
 Testing Concept: Managers of Samsung Electronics would determine the demand and
preference of their target customers regarding H-TV. The effectiveness of this product
will be determined by the level of positive perception from its customers regarding the
offering.
 Analysing Needs of Product Development: At this step, the managers of Samsung
Electronics would analyse the success of their product plan. This will be beneficial for
the firm to produce and implement stronger strategies needed for the product.
 Commercialization: This is the last stage of Commercial Funnel and under which the
firm finally would launch Samsung H-TV in the market. However, the firm would
monitor its effectiveness and how successfully it increases the Rate of Investment (ROI).
P6. Innovation Business Case for Samsung Electronics
The innovation introduced above could help Samsung Electronics to maximize their ROI
by enhancing the customer experience of content viewing. In the field of technology, the firm
would establish itself as a global leader. It will also help the company to introduce frugal
innovation that would list the company amongst the most innovative as well as smart firms in the
world (Gawer, 2011). The business case for Samsung H-TV is mentioned below:
STEPS DESCRIPTION
SUMMARY
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is one of the biggest multi-national
electronic companies in the world that deals in electronic products
and home appliances.
OBJECTIVES
Samsung Electronics need to maximize their Rate of Investment
(ROI) in the next 12 months.
SOLUTION
To achieve this, the company has developed Samsung H-TV which
would grab attention of more customers in the UK as well as the
world.
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INNOVATION IN
THE PRODUCT
Samsung H-TV would eradicate the hardware required for
televisions. All customers would need is a wall and nothing else. No
frame or digital chips and structures will be required to watch TV.
RESEARCH
Samsung Electronics reached the customers through surveys and
questionnaires. Through analysis it was found that the customers are
in dire need for an innovation in television industry.
FUNDING
The firm has approached financial institutions and investors with
this idea and is planning to acquire funding for this project through
these two methods (Dincer, 2017). Moreover, existing capital of the
company would be a major support in making this project a success.
BENEFITS
Through Samsung H-TV, the perception of television would
completely change for customers. More people all over the world
would be interested to use this product to experience this innovation
provided by the company. This would enhance their sales
performance which would automatically maximize their Rate of
Investment (ROI).
Calculation of ROI:
It is also important for the company to effectively apply several techniques that would
ensure the success of the new product within the market. In context with the new offering by
Samsung, it is essential for the company to calculate the Return on investment on the product in
order to determine the scope of success which the firm would be experiencing by the new
product.
Return on Investment = Net Profit/ Total Investment * 100
Thus, for instance, the firm incurred a profit of £50,000 on its new offering, while the
firm's investment of developing the product was £100,000. Thus, the calculation of ROI in this
context is mentioned below:
ROI for Samsung Electronics = 50,000 / 100,000 *100 = 0.5 * 100 = 50%
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TASK 4
P7. Different tools for Samsung Electronics to develop, retain and protect knowledge and
intellectual property
Samsung Electronics is a market giant in the field of innovation. The company is
responsible towards introducing some of the world’s most innovative products in the market
(Cross, 2011). For example, the firm has introduced the OLED and Curved televisions in the
market which was perhaps the most desired and appreciated innovation of the company. In
addition to this, Samsung Electronics is inclining towards use of new technology for its
production processes that would help the company in enhancing its production capacity.
Therefore, to protect this unique work of its innovators, the top management of the company
must develop effective understanding of intellectual property. The methods through which
Samsung Electronics could serve this purpose are described below:
Copyright: It is an intellectual property protection which is provided by the laws and
regulations of a country. This protection is available to protect the original works of the
employees of the company (Anderson, Potočnik and Zhou, 2014). Samsung electronics could use
copyrights to protect the originality of the design of a television, the technology used, even
methods that could enhance their durability.
Patent: A patent is another form of intellectual property that provides the creator with the
right to exclude other people from developing, consuming and even selling the commodity
invented by him for a limited span of time (Ahn, Minshall and Mortara, 2015). The timeline of a
patent is usually 20 years. However, this right is granted in exchange for enabling public
disclosure of the product in question.
Trademark: This refers to the design, expression or sign distinguishes the products from
the similar other products in the market. Samsung Electronics could use trademark to establish
itself as a brand owner of a specific offering. This would allow the company to take legal action
in case it faces a case of trademark infringement.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded from the above report that innovation is of vital importance to every
organization regardless of its size, methods, products and services. Innovation and invention both
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are necessary for the firm to acquire larger share in the market. The vision, teamwork, culture
and leadership of a company could help in modifying the nature of a company. The innovation
mix is responsible for correct use of innovation practices in companies. Frugal innovation and
innovation funnel provide a detailed access of market trends, as well as are responsible for
making the products cheaper and more valuable. Commercial funnel could help companies in
developing strong and effective strategies to launch a new product. Lastly, it is very necessary
for a company to protect its intellectual properties that could really help protect the innovative
work of the employees of the firm. Thus, innovation is the root cause for an organization’s
success in the market.
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