Dissertation: Evaluating Sustaining Innovation Impact on Tesla

This dissertation explores the impact of sustaining innovation on business performance within the US automotive industry, focusing on Tesla as a case study. It begins with an introduction outlining the background, rationale, problem, aim, objectives, research questions, and methodology. The literature review examines innovation strategies in the car-manufacturing industry, evaluates Tesla's innovations, and identifies the benefits gained through these innovations. The research methodology details the research philosophy, approach, strategy, design, and methods, including data collection and analysis techniques. The study utilizes a qualitative research method with secondary data collected from published sources such as scholarly articles, books, and journals, employing systematic literature review and case study strategies. The dissertation aims to provide insights into how sustaining innovation can drive business success in the automotive sector, particularly through the lens of Tesla's experiences.

Dissertation
(Evaluating the impact of sustaining
innovation on business performance in
the US automotive industry - A case
study of Tesla)

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1
Background of the study..............................................................................................................1
Research rationale........................................................................................................................1
Research problem........................................................................................................................2
Research aim................................................................................................................................2
Research objectives.....................................................................................................................2
Research Questions......................................................................................................................2
Significance of the study.............................................................................................................2
Outline of the methodology.........................................................................................................3
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................4
Introduction..................................................................................................................................4
To understand the concept of innovation strategies in the car-manufacturing industry .............4
To evaluate the innovation brought by Tesla in the car-manufacturing industry........................6
To identify the benefits gained by Tesla through innovation of the car-manufacturing industry
.....................................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................11
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................12
Introduction................................................................................................................................12
Research Philosophy:.................................................................................................................12
Research Approach:...................................................................................................................13
Research Strategy:.....................................................................................................................13
Research Design:.......................................................................................................................13
Research method:.......................................................................................................................14
Data collection methods:...........................................................................................................14
Data collection instruments:......................................................................................................14
Reliability and Validity:............................................................................................................15
Ethics:........................................................................................................................................15
Limitation of research:...............................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Sustaining innovation is focus on making intentional changes to a company's products,
services or processes for generating long-term environmental and social benefits while creating
economic profits for the company. This innovation happen within pre-existing markets that
consumers and customers have demonstrated they have value already. Through this, companies
can offer and invest novel products and services that directly contribute for achieving the
sustainability (Rizki and Saripudin, 2022). They can also innovate sustainably while offering
existing products and services when they change their processes. Process change can arise in
different areas such as production, marketing, design and even human resource also. The primary
aim of the sustaining innovations is to meet the wants of current generations without
compromising the needs of the future generations. It needs businesses to actively integrate
problems such as climate change and human rights into their innovation processes. Sustaining
innovations help company in order to attract talented employees (Si, and Chen, 2020). Talented
employees performed more effectively in the job that helps company to achieve their goals and
objectives more effectively. Thus, current research is conducted to evaluate the impact of
sustaining innovation on business performance in the automotive industry. The selected
organisation for the current research is Tesla. It is an auto-mobile organisation of United States.
The company was established in 2003 by a group of engineers who wants to prove that people
did not need to compromise to drive electric. That electric vehicles can be quicker, better as well
as more fun in order to drive than gasoline cars (About Tesla, 2022).
Research rationale
The main reason behind to conduct the research in current topic is to gain knowledge
about the sustaining innovation as well as its impacts on the business performance of the
company. This information helps company to improve their product, service or processes to
generate long-term social and environmental benefits (Van Dijck and Steen, 2019). It also help
company to fulfil the needs of current generation customers in better manner. There are two man
intention of the researcher to conduct the research in this topic. The first intention is personal as
the researcher wants to gain proper information about the topic for enhancing their knowledge.
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On the other hand, other intention is professional as the researcher wants to apply its knowledge
in its professional career and make sustaining innovation in their business.
Research problem
The problem which has been identified in the current research is that the company would
face problems in innovating their products and services sustainably. Sustainable innovation
improve or modify their existing product and services. It require huge costs as it innovates the
existing products and service of the company by changing their processes (Bitzinger and Raska,
2020). It increases the cost of their products and service that affects the sale and profit of the
company. Increase in price of their key products and services may affects the purchasing
decision of the customers. Customers wants effective and innovative products and service in
reasonable price or they move to other brand.
Research aim
To evaluate the impact of sustaining innovation on business performance in the US
automotive industry - A case study of Tesla
Research objectives
 To understand the concept of innovation strategies in the car-manufacturing industry
 To evaluate the innovation brought by Tesla in the car-manufacturing industry
 To identify the benefits gained by Tesla through innovation of the car-manufacturing
industry.
Research Questions
 Explain the concept of sustain innovation in the car-manufacturing industry.
 What are the innovations brought by Tesla in the car-manufacturing industry?
 What are the benefits gained by Tesla through innovations of the car-manufacturing
industry?
Significance of the study
The current research is important for the company as it helps them to improve and
innovate their existing products and service for generating long-term environmental and social
benefits while making economic development for the company (Radnejad and Vredenburg,
2019). As it helps in making their existing products and service more effective to meet the needs
of current generation customers in effective manner without compromising the needs of future
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generations. It collect important information that may help companies innovate their existing
products and processes sustainably in order to innovative products and services to their customer
for fulfilling their current needs and demand. The research is important for the researcher also as
they can improve and develop various skills as well as enhanced their knowledge. The skills
which has been developed by the researcher while doing the current research are project
management, time management, problem solving, communication, data analytics, data handling
and budget handling. These skills helps researcher to conduct its future research in more better
manner.
Outline of the methodology
For conducting research in this topic researcher used qualitative research method for
collecting and analysing detail information for achieving the aim and objectives of the research.
There are several published sources that help researcher to collect wide range of detail
information for the research. Researcher can get more subjectivity by collecting and analysing
data by qualitative methods. It allows researcher to collects data in detailed form that make easier
in developing better understanding for the research. Quantitative research method allow
researcher generate new theory by collecting data from the existing research. Researcher used
secondary data collection methods for collecting data for the current research (Cheng and Tan,
2018). Secondary data collection method allow researcher to collect data from the published
sources such as scholarly articles, books, journals and many more. In this research, researcher
used systematic literature review and case study strategies with a aim to gather more relevant
qualitative information for the research. This kind of data help researcher to answer the research
questions for the research.
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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
A literature review is all the about evaluating the available data that already has been
gathered by some authors and publishers to develop significant knowledge base on the particular
topic. The main aim of LR is to provide in-depth knowledge about the topic so that researcher
can further complete the project report in successful manner. Basically, literature review
provides critical analysis of the topic so that it will be easy for the investigator to complete the
project work in timely manner. While writing LR, information can be gathered from different
sources like journals, publications, websites, articles and more. This information will further
prove useful in writing the analysis about the topic in an organized manner. Also, this
information can be gathered from internal as well as external sources that will further guide
researcher in attainment of pre-defined research aims and objectives successfully.
To understand the concept of innovation strategies in the car-manufacturing industry .
As per the viewpoint of Kristiansen (2019), Innovation is on the minds of professionals all
through industries, and rightfully so, strategizing for innovation can allow companies to provide
customers with continued price, create new market segments, and push competition out of
segments. The main aim of innovation and development is to facilitate production of new,
innovative and attractive products to ensure the upliftment of society. In addition to this,
innovation is a process to introduce new products, services in market place to create more
efficient and agile organization. Moreover, business innovation needs to set suitable goals to
accomplish aims and objectives related to core business. In other words, innovation begins
through idea generation wherein ideas are narrow down during brainstorm sessions so that the
leaders can understand the viability, feasibility and desirability of each and every idea. In the
current competitive era, innovation is highly imperative for car manufactures so that they can
create differentiation. Further, innovation also allows them to make their products more advance
in terms of addressing the needs & requirements of customers in an efficient manner. This will
help the car manufactures in order to sustain in the competitive environment for longer period of
time. According to a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 84 percent of executives feel innovation
is pretty or very crucial to their groups’ boom strategies. When formulating a agency method,
information the extraordinary forms of innovation allows company to conceptualize their
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business’s region in context of car-manufacturing industry as well as get aware of what its
modern-day innovation approach is and if they had like to alternate it and then recognize
opposition’ innovation techniques. These insights can inform about the innovation techniques
that pressure functional, proactive product decisions to disrupt company or avoid being disrupted
via some other enterprise. Sustaining innovation incurs when a firm develops effective
performing items for selling in order to gain the higher profitability to their efficient consumers.
Mainly, this is undertaken as the strategy that is utilised by the companies and already successful
within its industries. Sustaining innovation is focus on making intentional changes to a
company's products, services or processes for generating long-term environmental and social
benefits while creating economic profits for the company. This innovation happen within pre-
existing markets that consumers and customers have demonstrated they have value already.
Through this, companies can offer and invest novel products and services that directly contribute
for achieving the sustainability. They can also innovate sustainably while offering existing
products and services when they change their processes. Process change can arise in different
areas such as production, marketing, design and even human resource also. The primary aim of
the sustaining innovations is to meet the wants of current generations without compromising the
needs of the future generations. It needs businesses to actively integrate problems such as climate
change and human rights into their innovation processes. Sustaining innovations help company
in order to attract talented employees.
As per the viewpoint of Ajitha (2021), The car industries is continuously at the face of big
technological and social alternate. Automotive producers, organizations within the car supply
chain, and generation startups eyeing the car marketplace need to understand the innovations
which might be undertaken region currently as well as those with a view to take place in future.
By having an correct photograph of innovation, those agencies can better look at and include
new technology into the long-term corporation and product approach. Major car manufacturers
presently take 3 widespread methods to innovation: bringing new and advanced generation into
the car; constantly optimizing and enhancing manufacturing and the supply chain; and
innovating their business functions in order to react to the predicted decline of individuals
owning cars. This whitepaper will take a look at the innovations in the first class: the generation
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and solutions the automobile manufacturers are making an funding in to bring unbiased vehicles
to marketplace; to growth safety; and to enhance the reason pressure and passenger revel in.
To evaluate the innovation brought by Tesla in the car-manufacturing industry.
As per the viewpoint of Karamitsios (2019), Tesla has focussed on reason pressure
experience from the beginning. Their cars are rather fun to power because of the instantaneous
torque that an electrical engine brings. In addition, the agency has focused on decreasing the
aforesaid range tension, which it has achieved by means of manner of constructing large
capability batteries into their automobiles. The Model 3, as an instance, has quite different over
500 km, almost twice that of the i3. Tesla has also installed location for its personal immoderate-
overall performance, with out difficulty placed supercharger stations internationally, which can
be easy to find and e-book because of the full-size try the employer has positioned into its
software systems. It is this region of software program that Tesla has a smooth competitive
benefit over all international vehicle producers. Its layout philosophy, wherein the whole thing is
concentrated on a single pc, which manages all the middle functions of the automobile, makes it
clean to upgrade software program and provide new functions to customers. In assessment,
BMW and different functionary are not capable of do that because almost all additives, from
door handles to windscreen wipers and which incorporates related software program, are
outsourced to zero. The fairly complicated working structures inner those motors depend upon
certain hundred pull strings chips made with the resource of several suppliers, this means that
huge coordination is needed to change something. And this in flip prohibits innovation.
As per the viewpoint of Teece (2018), Tesla has made the selection to now that is not easy
construct an integrated software platform but to use custom made semiconductor chips and to
combine them along different critical and proprietary technology including batteries and
electricity electronics. As a end result, the employer is at the forefront of areas which include
battery format and management in addition to production. It is similar to energy electronics,
which may be critical to the overall performance of EVs. Tesla took the impressive spread with
the Model three of using silicon carbide as opposed to the traditionally used silicon for its most
critical electricity electronics unit. This one choice allowed them to without difficulty and
improve correctly growth the type of the car thru 10% and additionally points at each other
element in their success: lifestyle. The employer of Elon Musk's sees themselves as the Apple of
automobiles, with rapid innovation and radical thinking at the leading edge of all that they do.
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The incumbent way of life in organizations like BMW, in stark evaluation, is possessed with
pleasant, instead of customer support, and for profitable evolution in preference to revolution. In
addition, just like Apple, Tesla has managed to capture the imagination and hearts and minds of
people across the world and that is contemplated of their valuation at the capital markets, it's now
higher than VW, Daimler and BMW mixed. All in all, that makes them a strong competitor to
conquer without radical exchange the diverse traditional producers.
As per the viewpoint of Maine (2019), Elon Musk’s Tesla is the sector’s maximum
treasured automobile producer. Currently, it's far running on numerous upgrades to alternate the
destiny of the car and energy zone. Tesla has filed close to 361 patents round electric powered
cars, automobile format, sun roofs, person interfaces, battery packs, EV chargers, and extra.
Seven years in the past, Tesla stated it would no longer initiate patent court cases toward
anybody who wants to use its era in appropriate religion. The insurance is supposed to push the
improvement of a common, -evolving platform for electric powered vehicles. Some of the
innovations which are performed by Tesla are cited below:
Electric vehicles charging stations
While the call for electric powered motors keeps to upward thrust, installing vicinity
charging infrastructure has end up paramount. Tesla is currently first in the race by means of
thriving modern day chargers to power its electric powered automobiles. The corporation has
launched revolutionary chargers, at the side of domestic charging (wall connector),
Supercharger, and vacation spot charging. Today, Tesla owns and operates the most important
worldwide, rapid-charging community in the international, where it has installation close to
25,000+ Superchargers.
Power wall
Power wall is an included battery tool developed via Tesla, which store sum strength for
backup protection and reduces reliance on the grid. The device automatically recharges with
daylight and detects electricity outages. Using the Tesla app, the client can display the system in
actual-time and set their alternatives to optimise electricity independence, outage safety, or
monetary financial savings. “Solar + Power wall battery guarantees that their house by no means
loses power
Tesla Giga factory
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In a bid to reinforce up the arena’s shift to sustainable power thru more and more cheap
electric powered powered automobiles and strength merchandise, Tesla is planning to ramp
manufacturing to five lakhs cars in step within this year. Tesla’s Gigafactory will deliver enough
batteries to useful resource Tesla’s projected automobile call for.
The Gig factory produces electric powered automobiles and battery packs, alongside Tesla’s
energy storage merchandise like Power wall and Power pack. Tesla operates out of 4 completely
operational centers — one in China and 3 inside the US. In the imminent years, greater Gig
factories are anticipated to come again up all through the globe.
Solar Roof
Tesla’s Solar Roof tiles are the primary of its kind product in the market. Its sun roof tiles
are greater than 3 times more potent than stylish roofing tiles and are engineered for all-weather
safety. It comes with a 25-year guarantee. “Our in-residence team of strength experts have
mounted extra than three.6 GW of smooth solar electricity at some stage in 4 lakh roofs — the
equivalent of 10 million conventional sun panels,” in keeping with Tesla. Tesla said customers
should power their homes at the lowest rate in keeping with watt of any countrywide issuer and
take control of their month-to-month power bill. The price estimation of its Solar Roof and Solar
Tiles can be checked. Furthermore, Tesla’s Solar Roof produces the maximum strength viable,
even on roofs with complex angles and intermittent daylight hours. Powered via Tesla Solar
Inverter, it gives a totally incorporated system of secure and reliable solar electricity generation.
With in-constructed connectivity, the sun inverter continues to grace with each over-the-air
software application update.
Solar Panels
Tesla Solar Panels may be set up on modern-day roofs with a minimum aesthetic,
changing daytime to energy. It comes with a 25 years warranty. The team seem after any
essential aspects in and installations after they order their sun panels. It additionally comes with
the selection of Tesla Power wall and Tesla Solar Inverter characteristic integrations.
Mega pack
Tesla Mega pack is remodelling how they electricity the grid — turning in giga-scale
potential, allowing the arena’s largest power initiatives. For instance, its 1 GWh (Gigawatt hour)
mission can offer record electricity capability — sufficient to electricity each home in San
Francisco for 6 hours. Its Mega pack is an all-in-one device, which arrives pre-assembled and
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pre-examined in one enclosure at once from its Giga factory, which includes battery modules, bi-
directional inverters, thermal control structures, and so on. In exceptional phrases, all they need
to do is connect Mega pack’s AC output on its website on-line wiring. Mega pack requires forty
% less space at the web page diploma and 10 times fewer elements than contemporary structures
that available on the market. The whole setup may be installation 10x quicker than present
structures.
To identify the benefits gained by Tesla through innovation of the car-manufacturing industry
According to Dyer and Gregersen, (2016), Innovation always play an imperative role in
terms of introducing new and innovative products to fulfil the needs and requirements of
customers in an efficient manner. The main aim of innovation and development is to facilitate
production of new, innovative and attractive products to ensure the upliftment of society. In
addition to this, innovation is a process to introduce new products, services in market place to
create more efficient and agile organization. Moreover, business innovation needs to set suitable
goals to accomplish aims and objectives related to core business. In other words, innovation
begins through idea generation wherein ideas are narrow down during brainstorm sessions so
that the leaders can understand the viability, feasibility and desirability of each and every idea.
Moreover, innovation is always useful in improving the existing products or develop new ones
so that the organization can attain pre-defined goals within stipulated period of time (Chang,
Liao and Wu, 2017). Innovation is helpful for the growth and development of the company as it
helps in production of innovation, new and advance products so that the customers can uplift
their standards in an efficient manner. Main aim of innovation is to offer better quality products
to the users so that they can live a better and standardized lifestyle significantly. In the present
era, innovation is highly imperative to create unique image in the competitive environment for
the attainment of set goals and objectives. Further, innovation also helps in sustainable and
advance development of the company for further betterment. In case of TESLA, it is a well-
known brand that is popular for introducing highly advance and updated electric vehicles for the
convenience of people. Tesla has focussed on reason pressure experience from the beginning.
Their cars are rather fun to power because of the instantaneous torque that an electrical engine
brings. In addition, the agency has focused on decreasing the aforesaid range tension, which it
has achieved by means of manner of constructing large capability batteries into their
automobiles. It is analysed that Tesla continue to embark innovation with an aim to advance their
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