Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management: Marks & Spencer Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of innovation opportunities adopted by Marks & Spencer (M&S) for future competitiveness. It examines M&S's digital strategy and sustainable food product strategy, highlighting their impact on sales, revenue, and customer loyalty. The report discusses the scope of these innovation opportunities, including financial resources, intellectual property, and human resources. It then evaluates various theoretical frameworks such as the 4Ps of Innovation, SAFe Framework, and sustainable innovation, recommending the sustainable innovation framework as the most appropriate for M&S. Furthermore, the report applies this theoretical tool to M&S's chosen innovation opportunities, explaining their benefits in terms of competitiveness. It also addresses the challenges faced by the organization due to implementation and provides recommendations for addressing these challenges and maximizing opportunities to enhance competitiveness. The report concludes with an overview of the key findings and recommendations, emphasizing the importance of innovation for M&S's continued success in the retail market. The report also provides a detailed analysis of the theoretical frameworks, the practical application of these frameworks, and the challenges and opportunities that M&S faces in the current market scenario.

Entrepreneurship and
Innovation
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
Discuss innovation opportunities adopted by selected company for future competitiveness. ...3
Scope of innovation opportunities ............................................................................................4
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................5
Evaluation of various theoretical framework .............................................................................5
Most appropriate theoretical framework in reference to innovative opportunities ....................7
Limitation of sustainable innovation framework for organisation .............................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Application of theoretical tool in reference to innovative opportunities....................................7
Explain the benefits of innovation opportunities in terms of how they contribute to the
competitiveness of selected firm.................................................................................................8
Challenges to be faced by organisation due to implementation of innovation opportunities.....9
Recommendations to organisation to address challenges and maximise opportunities to
enhance competitiveness.............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
Books and journals....................................................................................................................11
Online........................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Innovation is a concept which is used to convert creative ideas with help of innovation
strategies into new marketable products and services. In order to sustain in intense competitive
environment it is important to shift from old to new technology to retain market position. In the
ocean of plenty of ideas an organisation is willing to pursue most efficient innovation for its
increased profitability.
In this reference, Marks & Spencer is operating on a multinational level with
headquarters London, UK in retail segment. It is one of well established organisation across UK
and also it operates across the world. It has large customer base which requires it to conduct
innovation in its products and services. Therefore in this report, all relevant innovation
opportunities being adopted by organisation in recent times will be discussed by viewing future
competition. Also applicable frameworks such as 4Ps of innovation, SAFe Framework and
theory of innovation in regard to organisation's adopted opportunities. It will also include further
recommendations to senior management in regard to innovation opportunities prevailing before
organisation with identified advantages and retain position in future competitiveness.
TASK 1
Discuss innovation opportunities adopted by selected company for future competitiveness.
Innovation refers to introducing something new in the market by improving and replacing
products or services. For success of an organisation its important for it to regularly innovate new
products for customers (Lempiälä and Vanharanta, 2018). In terms of this it will assist
organisation in achieving competitive advantage in market. In relevance of Marks & Spencer,
they analysed different changing situation, taste and demand of their customers by conducting
proper research on it. Which helps organisation in offering something unique to their customers
as compare to their competitors. It will increase customers loyalty towards company products
and increase profitability of company. Currently selected company use two innovation strategies
which are discuss below:
 Digital strategy- It refers to an strategy which is used by an organisation for promoting
their products and services with the help of digital technologies such as computer,
mobile phones and other digital media. Marks & Spencer is an retail company which
deals in different kinds of food and clothing products. They timely innovate new

products and services which helps in enhancing their sales of products and revenue. At
the time of COVIDE- 19 company face a problem of low sale because customers are not
able to purchase products from physical retail store. Which cause a big loss for company.
For overcome from this situation selected company use digital innovation strategy. They
develop new digital application and software with the help of which they online sell their
products to customers. By innovating this new technology in their company they helps
customers to buy product from their home. This innovation assist company in enhancing
their sales of products which will increase their profitability and market share value. And
by providing different products to customers at their home it will increase customers
locality towards company.
 Sustainable food products strategy- It refers to those products which provides different
benefits such as environmental, social and economical over their whole life cycle, from
extraction of raw material to final disposal (Lager, 2017). Marks & Spencer innovate
new sustainable food products after analysing that its customers are more attach towards
environment. For successfully innovating sustainable product they conduct a proper
research on how to reduce plastic packaging. By using this innovation technique
goodwill of selected firm increase in the market. After COIVID-19 its important for
company to innovate those products which are also beneficial for environment and
society. According to current situation people are more concerned towards their health.
After analysing needs and preferences of their customers selected firm use product
innovation strategy. By innovating sustainable products in market company attract more
and more customers towards their products.
Scope of innovation opportunities
 Financial resources invested- In terms of selected company, firm innovate in the area of
technology and products. It require large amount of investment by company. By
innovating digital marketing platform at the time of COVIDE- 19 firm it will increase
sales of products for company. Which generate large amount of revenue for company.
 Intellectual property- It refers to the intangible assets owned by a company for
protecting its innovation from outside use or implementation (Shafique and et. al., 2019).
By innovating new products it helps company in achieve competitive advantage in
market. Intellectual property protect company innovation from outside use.

 Human resources- Innovation helps in developing skills and knowledge of their
customers. By using digital innovation strategy company save its cost. By providing
products to customers at their home it will reduce requirement of human resource in
company. Which will save cost for company and increase revenue for company.
TASK 2
Evaluation of various theoretical framework
As per the current innovation requirements in the retail industry, there are various sectors
in order to carry innovations. These sectors are technological, product, service delivery, systems,
processes, procedures and so on. In this regard, Marks & Spencer has been devoted towards
development of its existing product line and service delivery. In order to grab innovation
opportunities company is required to review various theoretical frameworks in reference to
innovation strategies. Some of the most significant tools can be evaluated as follows:
 4 Ps of Innovation: It is important concept which is used to identify how comprehensive
respective innovation is (Kovalenko and et. al., 2019). This is used widely by various
organisation in order to evaluate their selected innovation opportunities in the prevailing
industry. These Ps can be dicussed as given below:
1. Product: It includes the manner in which you will innovate an existing product or
develop new innovative product with the help of prevailing opportunities in the
industry. This will help an organisation to sustain in the competitive environment in
a particular industry. It is important to develop new technological enhancements
which will be optimum for overall development of an organisation.
2. Process: Here it is identified that which process has been implemented to generate
new products in the market. The process used is of utmost importance as it signifies
how well a product is developed by organisation.
3. Position: It reflects the perception of customers, employees and investors have about
organisation which will be ultimate factor of company's overall success. It is
important to revert back customers with positive attitude in case of any contingencies
in order to maintain its goodwill and brand image in eyes of customers.
4. Paradigm: It is considered as a way in which something is changed in an
organisation (Zobel, 2017). It includes various changes being done by management

in exisiting products, technology or services. It generally means introducing
something radical in the organisation which is of utmost importance for company's
overall progress and growth
 SAFe Framework: Also known as Scaled Agiled Framework, a methodology which is
implemented for development of team, program and portfolio which are also considered
as its pillars. It is majorly used to provide flexibility to teams and manage big challenges
faced by large organisations while delivering successful products. This framework has
following strengths as well as weaknesses given below:
Strengths- It provides support to cross functional teams in order to collaborate in more effective
manner. Also provides organisation achieve optimum transparency level. This system also aligns
overall project aspects into wider business goals.
Weaknesses- It is believed by various experts that this framework is not completely agile as it
needs to conduct direct planning as well as process management. It is also top down based
approach and not team based methodology.
 Sustainable Innovation: It is widely used framework for economic evolution of an
organisation in the relevant industry. Sustainability as the word implies is concerned with
longevity of ecosystem by using various natural ingredients in food products in order to
increase human stamina and its production efficiency (Bashir and Farooq, 2019). It is
very useful tool of innovation which is adopted by every organisation in recent times. As
per current scenario, Covid-19 has influenced normal routine life of almost every
individual across the globe. Therefore, in order to deal with the issue it is important to
develop sustainable products which are considered as eco-friendly and provide human
health benefits as a whole.
Most appropriate theoretical framework in reference to innovative opportunities
By keeping in mind above mentioned factors and evaluation of various frameworks, it
would be suggested that Marks & Spencer should adopt sustainable innovation framework as
per current scenario across UK as well as other parts of globe. As it is completely understood
that organisation needs to implement innovation which will help it to deal with current
organisation situational drawbacks. Covid-19 being most influential factor in recent times which
has affected every segment of market across the world. Therefore, by reviewing customer's

preferences and needs of digital innovation and sustainable food products company has
implemented prevailing innovation opportunities in regard to technology and product innovation.
Sustainable innovation will be helpful for implementation of appropriate digital strategies
in order to survive in the market as well as providing eco-friendly food products which will
enhance customer health in order to fight deadly diseases like covid-19 and so on. It provides
both market sustainability as well as customer retention capacity by considering their needs and
requirements.
Limitation of sustainable innovation framework for organisation
This framework has long lasting advantages still lacks over some points. It incurs high
costs over implementation of innovation, also it lacks in proper information regarding its proper
laws and policies as well as manner of implementation. Also sustainable innovation has
uncertainties which may impact performance of an organisation. People also lacks at skills which
is required fro implementation of such frameworks. Therefore, Marks & Spencer should evaluate
sustainable development framework in regard to its advantages and disadvantages before its
implementation in practical life.
TASK 3
Application of theoretical tool in reference to innovative opportunities
Sustainable innovation is itself a broad framework which inculcates with new creative
ideas in the form of marketable products and service delivery systems (Wang and Xu, 2018). It is
very helpful to achieve success to an organisation in endless ways having optimum combinations
of eco-friendly resources. It can be applied to Marks & Spencer's chosen innovation
opportunities which can be explained as follows:
Digital Innovation Strategy: In the increasing technological base, companies are
adapting almost complete technology support in order to grow their businesses over large as well
as small platform (Cristo-Andrade and Franco, 2019). As every human has an adequate access to
internet therefore it is easily accessible by every individual. In recent times, Marks & Spencer
has launched their new pay and go app- based service across its all 573 food stores across UK in
order to deal with the current pandemic situation ( Lauchlan, 2020). This will allow Marks &
Spencer to outgrow and sustain in the competitive environment in retail industry. Sustainability

is considered as important factor for those organisation who looks at achieving optimum
profitability from securing their market share.
Sustainable Food product Strategy: This strategic innovation is of utmost importance
in order to attract major customer segment. Sustainable food products covers all those items
which are developed through the use of all natural ingredients or eco-friendly resources. This
will help an organisation to maintain sustainable environment in order to promote healthy living.
Therefore, Marks & Spencer is following production of such food products with use of
sustainable raw material in order to maximize its market share in the overall industry. This way
sustainable innovation strategy will help an organisation to maintain healthy environment and
social welfare in the situation of Covid-19.
Explain the benefits of innovation opportunities in terms of how they contribute to the
competitiveness of selected firm
In terms of this successful development of new idea helps an organisation in improving
its process and provide new and improved products and service to market enhance the
profitability and efficiency of company. Benefits from innovation opportunities are discuss
below:
 Financial growth- In context of selected firm, innovation opportunities provide
competitive advantage to company in their marketplace. Innovation means offering
something new and unique as compare to its competitors which attract more and more
customers towards their product (Albats and et. al., 2020). Competitive advantage from
innovation opportunity helps organisation in increasing their product sales in market and
earn higher profit.
 Brand equity- It refers to a marketing term which define the value of brand in market.
That value is determined by experience and perception of customers with a particular
brand. In context of selected firm, by innovating sustainable foods products for their
customers it helps company in enhancing their brand equity in market. By providing
unique and new products to customers company achieve loyalty of their customers which
enhance brand value in market.
 Market share- It refers to the percentage of total sales in an industry which is generated
by a particular company (Shujahat and et. al., 2019). In context of selected firm by

offering something new and unique as compare to its competitors it will generate sales
for their products. Digital innovation helps company to offer their products to customers
at their home. Which will increase sales for company products at the time of COVIDE-
19. By enhancing their sales and earn higher revenue selected firm increase its market
share value.
Challenges to be faced by organisation due to implementation of innovation opportunities
In reference to respective innovation opportunities being adopted by organisation, various
challenges will be faced by it in regard to management, employees, customers, government,
investors and so on (Strobel and Kratzer, 2017). Marks & Spencer needs to formulate appropriate
policies in reference to its respective innovations so that management and employees can provide
feasible results by understanding its proper implementation. Also organisation must abide by
laws and regulations which are notified by government in reference with its digital innovation
and sustainable food products strategy from time to time. It is also necessary to raise funds for
new ventures so organisation is required to provide proper reports to its prevailing investors in
order to seek their cooperation in the long term.
Recommendations to organisation to address challenges and maximise opportunities to enhance
competitiveness
In pandemic situation, Marks & Spencer should adopt maximum innovation opportunities
in order to increase its overall market share as well as customer loyalty that will be necessity for
a company. More exposure to growing technology and adoption of sustainability will enhance
organisation's efficiency, financial position, brand equity market share,etc.
Also it is required to address firmly to challenges which may arise due to implementation
of new technology as employees are required to make familiar with new up-gradation in order to
achieve maximum efficiency. Therefore, various training programs needs to be conducted to
succeed at productivity. Also compliances with notified laws and regulations by organisation in
order to maintain integrity in eyes of government and customers.
CONCLUSION
From above study it can be analysed that innovation is very important for long term
growth of an organisation. It bring new opportunities for company which will enhance market
share value and profitability of company. Innovation make company to provide something new

to and unique to its customers which will attract more and more customers towards company
products. In terms of this it increase sales for company and enhance revenue for firm. This report
includes technology innovation and product innovation which will help company in its
development. Sustainable innovation helps company in innovating a unique product for
customers, and select a effective process which will increase market share for company's product
and increase profitability. In this report company innovate digital innovation and sustainable
food product which helps in increasing goodwill and brand image for company.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Albats and et. al., 2020. Stakeholder management in SME open innovation: interdependences
and strategic actions. Journal of Business Research. 119. pp.291-301.
Bashir, M. and Farooq, R., 2019. The synergetic effect of knowledge management and business
model innovation on firm competence. International Journal of Innovation Science.
Cristo-Andrade, S. and Franco, M.J., 2019. Cooperation as a vehicle for innovation: a study of
the effects of firm size and industry type. European Journal of Innovation Management.
Kovalenko and et. al., 2019. Key indicators of innovation activity of Russia (from 2011 to
2017). Journal of Entrepreneurship Education. 22(3). pp.1-7.
Lager, T., 2017. A conceptual analysis of conditions for innovation in the process industries and
a guiding framework for industry collaboration and further research. International
Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development. 9(3). pp.189-219.
Lempiälä, T. and Vanharanta, O., 2018. Rethinking the control–freedom paradox in innovation:
toward a multifaceted understanding of creative freedom. The Journal of Applied
Behavioral Science. 54(1). pp.62-87.
Shafique and et. al., 2019. How ethical leadership influences creativity and organizational
innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management.
Shujahat and et. al., 2019. Translating the impact of knowledge management processes into
knowledge-based innovation: The neglected and mediating role of knowledge-worker
productivity. Journal of Business Research. 94. pp.442-450.
Strobel, N. and Kratzer, J., 2017. Obstacles to innovation for SMEs: Evidence from
Germany. International Journal of Innovation Management. 21(03). p.1750030.
Wang, X. and Xu, M., 2018. Examining the linkage among open innovation, customer
knowledge management and radical innovation: The multiple mediating effects of
organizational learning ability. Baltic Journal of Management.
Zobel, A.K., 2017. Benefiting from open innovation: A multidimensional model of absorptive
capacity. Journal of Product Innovation Management. 34(3). pp.269-288.

Online
How Marks & Spencer plans to double down on digital to compete with online pureplays and
survive the COVID crisis[online] available through< https://diginomica.com/how-marks-
spencer-plans-double-down-digital-compete-online-pureplays-and-survive-covid-crisis>