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Marketing and discontinuous innovation: the probe and learn process

Article Abstract:

Companies that compete effectively over the long run in technology intensive fields exhibit an ability for both continuous (or incremental) innovations and discontinuous (or radical) innovations. The latter, which lead to the creation of entirely new businesses and product lines, pose a unique set of challenges for management. They typically require a long, investment-intensive process, marked by pervasive uncertainty, unpleasant surprises, and no guarantee of success. Conventional approaches to new product development, while appropriate for continuous innovation, are inappropriate and sometimes even detrimental when applied to the more discontinuous regime of innovations. For instance, the familiar admonition to be customer-driven is of little value when it is not at all clear who the customer is or will be, or when the product class itself does not yet exist. This article presents detailed case studies of four discontinuous innovations - CAT scanners (by GE), optical fibers (by Corning), cellular phones (by Motorola), and NutraSweet (by Searle, now Monsanto) - which explore the process of developing discontinuous innovations and demonstrate how they are fundamentally different from the conventional process of incremental innovation. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

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Lead users: a source of novel product concepts

Article Abstract:

High-technology products and other new products characterized by rapid change present problems for marketers because users will lack the real-world experience required to solve problems and provide accurate data to market researchers. Lead users are defined as users whose current needs will become general in a future marketplace. Because lead users are aware of the conditions that will be encountered by others in the future, they serve as a need-forecasting laboratory for marketing researchers. Lead users often try to fill their needs themselves, which an lead to the development of new products, new product applications, new designs, and technological innovation. How to identify lead users and how their perceptions and preferences can be used in industrial and consumer marketing research analyses are examined.

Marketing, Product management, Industrial design

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New product team learning: developing and profiting from your knowledge capital

Article Abstract:

This article explores organizational learning for new product development through a study of thirteen innovation teams from Apple, IBM, and HP. There are three types of organizational learning: Within-Team Learning, Cross-Team Learning, and Market Learning. A new product team need not excel at all three. In fact, under different circumstances some types of learning can actually be detrimental to a project's outcome. This article discusses each of these learning types and explains when each is appropriate and why. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Research, Management, Work groups, Teamwork (Workplace), Learning, Production management

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