Management of Technology & Innovation

 

 

1st Module assessment

 

Case Stud

A retail purchase is often tied to the emotions of the shopper, and successful stores play into their consumer’s emotions. According to Joseph Demeri, CEO of Exclusive Retail Interiors, people need a reason for walking into a store. The way a store looks from the outside, and what a customer sees, hears, and smells when they go inside the store, greatly affects the retail experience.

 

“A consumer’s relationship with a product represents a real culture. The way a customer associates and connects with a brand has a direct correlation to purchases. If stores make the retail experience special for their customers, if they make it unique, if they connect with a customer’s sense of sight, sound and, yes, even smell, people will buy more. And, getting customers to buy improves the retailer’s bottom line.”

 

In-store shopping provides consumers an instant emotional gratification, as purchased items, like Rebecca’s green scarf, can be worn as soon as the sales transaction is complete – who hasn’t worn their just-purchased pair of shoes home from the mall?

In fact, many “Ecommerce-only” retailers, including giant Amazon, are opening physical stores, with Amazon’s first in Seattle in late 2015 and there are plans to open more. Why the shift? Retailers want to provide a more personal shopping experience, reduce shipping costs and fully integrate the offline and online experience.

 

In today’s times, where nearly everyone has a smartphone and a few minutes to spare, online shopping and even browsing has somewhat of a national pastime for Americans, and there are many reasons WHY. Unlike a unique outing to the mall, online shopping can be executed absolutely anywhere. And as 2016 is being proclaimed to be the year of the mobile shopper, more consumers are browsing, researching and making their purchases online.

 

However, the retail e-commerce market, which is expected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2018, still only represents less than 10% of the global retail market.

While consumers may prefer to make their purchases in store for the instant gratification and savings on shipping, they rely on other channels to get their information. Mobile is still key. While less than 10% of consumers surveyed by PwC make purchases on their mobile phone, it is a vital tool in the purchasing process.

Consumers may be using their smartphones and PC to become acquainted with the goods and sales before heading to a physical store.

 

Omni-channel can include Ecommerce, mobile, point of sale, call center and even – yes – social media options! Imagine purchasing your favorite scarf via Facebook. It now can be done. However, like mobile, researchers still see this mode of shopping in its infancy and as a stepping stone to the in-store purchase. The form that retail shopping will surely continue to evolve and expand as new forms of purchasing avenues are introduced. One thing, though, is certain – companies that want the almighty consumer dollar need to guard their corporate brand their customer fiercely. That’s where Bluefin comes in, we provide PCI-validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) solutions for every POS purchasing channel and tokenization and transparent redirect for the Ecommerce channel – helping our clients bring back their customers time and time again.

Because after all, the age-old thrill of the impulse purchase will never go away, whether it’s a green scarf, an expensive bottle of wine or a new Ferrari (ok, now we are really dreaming at Bluefin).

 

 

1. Which statement is not a benefit of formulating a retail strategy?

 

• A retailer is forced to study the legal, economic, and competitive market.

 

• Aretailer is shown how it can differentiate itself from competitors.

 

• Sales maximization is stressed

 

• Crises are anticipated and often avoided.

 

 

2. A retail purchase is tied to

 

• Spending power

 

• Attitude

 

• Emotions

 

• Both (a) & (b)

 

3. Factor(s) impacting the purchase decision are

 

• What the customer smell

 

• What the customer hears

 

• What the customer sees

 

• All of the above

 

4. There are different techniques to both initiate and build relationships with customers by using a combination of online and offline techniques. What is the 'customer life cycle' though?

• The stages each customer will go through in a long-term relationship with a supplier

 

• An approach to building and sustaining long-term business with a customer

 

• Techniques to encourage customers to increase their involvement with an organisation

 

• The answers above are all correct

 

 

5. A strength of social media and viral marketing is:

 

• Cannot be ignored in user's inbox

 

• It is possible to reach a large number at relatively low cost

 

• Considered credible

 

• Highly targeted with controlled costs

 

 

6. Omni-Channel is a term used for

 

 

• Physical stores

 

• online stores

 

• multi-locality stores in a city

 

• None of the above

 

7. The data related to Impulse purchase can be captured using

 

 

• observations

 

• Big data analysis

 

• data about credit card usage

 

• All of the above

 

8. The factor why there's a switch from online stores to brick-&-mortar stores is

 

• that consumer wants experience

 

• that the consumer wants best quality

 

• that the consumer wants best deals

 

• All of the above

 

9. What does the consumer use to get the marketing information?

 

• Websites

 

• mobiles

 

• News

 

• All of the above

 

10. What is Point-to-Point Encryption?

 

• Technology that stops the consumer from knowing he's been observed

 

• Technology created specifically to address Privacy related issues

 

• Technology to ensure stopping competition from stealing your data

 

• a process of securely encrypting a signal or transacted data through a designated "tunnel."

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Module assessment

 

Case Study

 

All knowledge is socially constructed, but some more than others.

In some cases, an individual interacts with a number of others who may be completely unaware of what problem he is trying to solve, and then, with the knowledge gained, the individual goes off by himself and synthesizes a solution.

In other cases, the new knowledge is co-created by interacting individuals who are bouncing ideas off each other and actively integrating their different perspectives. These two kinds of knowledge creation are supported by different kinds of network structures.

 

Individual Creativity:

 

To maximize individual creativity, a person needs access to a diversity of skills and expertise. The relationships between the knowledge builder and the resources they draw on do not have to unusually close. Embedded in teams ... collective rules of thumb, hunches and skills. They shouldn't be enemies or competitors (more on them later), but friendly acquaintances will do fine. All parties need to have some skill at communicating across disciplines.

The more diverse people a person can call on, the better the opportunities for knowledge creation. Since individuals are limited in the number of relationships they can maintain, efficiency is important. A person who has many colleagues drawn from one discipline and/or social circle will not access as much diversity of ideas as a person who is connected to the same number of people drawn from different disciplines, departments and social circles. People who interact daily come to know many of the same things, and are in that sense informationally redundant. In contrast, people who do not interact will often know many things that the other does not know. The property of having ties to people who are not in the same social circles with each other is called betweenness or "structural holes". A person rich in structural holes has many ties, and the people they are tied to are not tied to each other.

 

It's important to realize that in a small group, it is difficult for many people to have personal networks rich in structural holes. For this to happen the network has to be fairly diffuse.

 

Interactive Creativity:

 

Interactive creativity also calls for heterogeneity -- it is the successful synthesis of different perspectives that creates something new. But because the interaction in this context is more intense and more important, the relationship between the people needs to be very good. In particular, they need to be able to understand each other well. This tends to mean that the participants are fundamentally similar in language and background concepts. It also means that affective elements like simply liking each other are helpful, as are good social skills.

 

Radical versus Incremental Innovation:

 

People need access to a diversity of skills and knowledge in order to innovate. This argues for being as well connected as possible. If we want everyone in a group to be in a position to innovate, this will mean a very dense network in which everyone is connected to almost everyone.

 

 

 

1. Embedded in teams ... collective rules of thumb, hunches and skills'. What are we referring to here?

 

Select one:

a. Organisational culture

b. Inventiveness

c. Tactical knowledge

d. Tacit knowledge

 

 

 

2. For the group to have structural holes…

 

Select one:

a. the group should be intensified

b. the group should be defused

c. the group should be heightened

d. the group should be concentrated

 

 

3. heterogeneity is

 

Select one:

a. individual creativity

b. group creativity

c. Interactive creativity

d. none of the above

 

 

4. Incremental Innovation is

 

Select one:

a. Thinking differently

b. A series of small improvements to an existing product

c. Successfully changing the outlook of the future through innovation

d. successfully changing the need of the consumer through innovation

 

 

5. Radical Innovation is

 

Select one:

a. Thinking differently

b. successfully changing the need of the consumer through innovation

c. Successfully changing the outlook of the future through innovation

d. provide something new by uprooting industry conventions and by significantly changing customer expectations in a positive way

 

 

6. structural holes is

 

Select one:

a. The property of having ties to people who are in the same social circles with each other

b. The property of having ties to people who are your primary customers

c. The property of having ties to people who are not in the same social circles with each other

d. The property of having ties to people who are not your customers

 

 

7. What is the innovation gap?

 

Select one:

a. A nation's lack of inventiveness

b. Shortage of funds during the development phase

c. The time that elapses between invention and innovation

d. An opening that rivals might exploit

 

 

8. What reasons lie behind resistance to closer integration of R&D with other business functions?

 

Select one:

a. Managers understand little of technology and there are differences in the personal backgrounds and organisation of managers in other functions.

b. Many managers are frustrated at the slow rate of progress in R&D

c. R&D managers show little understanding of the business world while other managers show little understanding of technology

d. Different functions use incompatible methods of allocating and controlling budgets

 

 

9. Which statement about innovative firms is untrue?

 

Select one:

a. In accounts, intellectual property cannot be counted as an asset

b. After an acquisition, the rate of innovation slows in both firms

c. If firms do not innovate, they are doomed

d. When traded, innovative firms command higher prices

 

 

10. Why, according to the text, is it so difficult to select innovators?

 

Select one:

a. Its difficult to measure creativity in an interview

b. Its difficult to take the interviewee on face value

c. Problems in observing innovativeness mean that psychometric tests cannot be calibrated

d. Biographical data is a good predictor but referees rarely refer to innovativeness

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd Module assessment

 

Case Study

 

Innovation can be defined generally as creative new idea (e.g. palmtops), method or procedure (e.g. reducing one process at McDonald to save time and cost for customer satisfaction) and novelty in doing same or old thing (e.g. desktop to laptops or wired to wireless network connection). If stated objective of innovation also include financial objective then it can be said as business innovation for financial benefit (Kuczmarski, 1996: 1). The word Innovation can also use alternative to invention (Huff, Slein & Reichwald, 2013: p5). On the other hand, Kuczmarski (1996) state that Innovation can be defined as thinking today, while being focused in future. This concept is more relevant to larger organisations who invest in R&D activites.

 

Lindegaard (2010) classified three basic types of innovations i.e. Finance, Process and Offering (p159) are further categorised in two ten subcategories of innovation strategies that company can adopt along-with examples ranging from SMEs to large companies. Subsequently, Financial Innovation can be classified as innovation in Business Model e.g. Dell presented personal computers (PCs) and thus won market through innovation of introducing desktop computers as PCs (p160). Second type of Financial Innovation can come through Network Organisations e.g. Sara Lee Company realised its potion in core business of marketing and brand management and was successes through this innovation. Thus company took advantage of outsourcing its noncore activities (p161). Process Innovation can include creativity in Enabling and Core Processes. Company like Wal-Mart have because of Core Process of inventory management system (p162), while Starbucks based in her coffee experience supported many companies Enabling Processes. Third classification Innovation includes Offerings. Subsequently, Offering based Innovation includes Product-Performance. For example VU Beetle Company successfully innovative designed of product and then redesigned her product on new dimensions for market success innovatively (p162). Another offering subtype include Product-System e.g. Microsoft office bundles variety of products i.e. Word, Publisher, Excel, PowerPoint, outlook Visio etc and keep updating has advantage of Product-System. Finally Service based Innovation, e.g. Singapore Airlines gives most out leashed services one must member as life time experience. These innovations are from small, medium and larger firm. But most of these examples are from SMEs.

If one has to identify need of innovation then the answer is the one variable called needed and desirable Change. The successful incorporation of change process can result in Innovation. Let go and explore some historic examples. For example, why Man need wheel? Answer as the need for fast travelling and transportation to invent the wheel with limited resources that any SMEs could have. In early nineties, railway engine was the innovation, because further mass level transportation was the problem of man and most needed change taken the form of innovation but today’s innovation is power saver engines to deal with power shortage. The recent technology of computer was the most needed innovation of time for data storage need. Then, the latest technological innovation came to one’s mind is the World Wide Web, i-phones, palmtops, notebooks etc. These innovations are the best examples of most needed changes resulted in innovations as outcome of change. But discussion does not end here. Every company sustaining in different economic environment has different story about innovation. If we start listing cases of success and failure and successful innovation the never ending debate will start.

 

 

 

1. Why is it more likely that a small firm is “born regional”?

 

 

• The resources and capabilities internalized within firm boundaries can be exploited more easily in similar institutional contexts within regions than across different regions

 

• Small and young ventures may be able to acquire information about local customer’s preference and/or local business practices more easily in nearby countries, and to adapt their products and services more easily to meet the specific needs of local customers in the same home region.

 

• Given their limited resources small firms can be expected to reduce risk by selecting nearby countries in their home region as the final destination of their internationalization strategy from inception.

 

• All of the above

 

2. Why do entrepreneurship and innovation go hand-in-hand?

 

• Entrepreneurs are both owners and managers of the business, so they are more likely to take calculated risks to pursue business opportunities

 

• Entrepreneurs identify business opportunities and assemble the resources and capabilities needed to create value.

 

• Entrepreneurs have the capability and motivation to pursue innovative commercial opportunities that are riskier and more radical than normal

 

• All of the above

 

3. The example of VU Beetle Company in the case is related to

 

 

• reverse innovation

 

• Experiential innovation

 

• incremental innovation

 

• process innovation

 

4. What is innovation?

 

 

• The establishment of new methods of production, supply and distribution.

 

• The renewal and enlargement of the range of products and services and the associated markets

 

• The introduction of changes in management, work organization, and the working conditions and skills of the workforce

 

• All of the above

 

5. Service Based Innovation is

 

 

• innovations in service industry

 

• innovations designed to shift the paradigm for competitors

 

• innovation designed to shift the paradigm of consumers

 

• option 2 and 3

 

6. Example of Wal-Mart in the case is related to

 

 

• reverse innovation

 

• Experiential innovation

 

• incremental innovation

 

• process innovation

 

 

7. Innovation is all about…

 

 

• thinking in present

 

• thinking in future

 

• thinking in past

 

• none of the above

 

 

8. What is dynamic capability?

 

 

• The firm’s ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments.

 

• The firm’s ability to maximize profits through international business activities

 

• The firm’s ability to grow quickly on the basis of temporary opportunities

 

• The firm’s ability to focus on wealth-creating activities

 

 

9. Financial Innovation is

 

 

• product innovation

 

• business model innovation

 

• process innovation

 

• service innovation

 

 

10. Need for innovation is

 

 

• process of maintaining status-quo

 

• desire for change

 

• process of invention

 

• option 2 and 3

 

 

 

 

4thModule assessment

 

 

Case Study

 

Gartner believes that in 2018, 3D printing will accelerate new business model innovation. Here are some of the 3D printing predictions by Gartner:

By 2021, 75 percent of new commercial and military aircraft will fly with 3D-printed engine, airframe and other components.

By 2021, 25 percent of surgeons will practice on 3D-printed models of the patient prior to surgery.

By 2021, 20 percent of the world's top 100 consumer goods companies will use 3D printing to create custom products.

By 2021, 20 percent of enterprises will establish internal startups to develop new 3D print-based products and services.

By 2021, 40 percent of manufacturing enterprises will establish 3D printing centers of excellence (COE). "The long-term goal of a 3DP COE is to become a seamless part of the design and manufacturing process. When successful, the COE has broad implications on use of 3DP in the design, manufacturing and maintenance of products," - Gartner.

 

As background, 3D printing is called "additive manufacturing" because -- unlike legacy processes that generally involve cutting, chopping or bending metal, plastic or wood ("Subtractive manufacturing")-- additive involves material being applied or "layered in" by way of a digital design specification. Heterogeneity plays an important role here.

 

This approach gives engineers and product makers more possibilities from a geometric standpoint, and reduces waste considerably. The questions that have lingered concern speed, material strength, and cost overall. Lingered until now.

 

New materials, new printers and new eco-systems are emerging -- and changing the economics considerably. This digitally based "additive" process has vast implications across the entire lifecycle of a product, from the way things are designed and prototyped, to the way they are built as well as delivered and distributed. This also has implications from a supply chain disruption standpoint.

 

The other implication is that 3D printer devices can be networked and virtualized very much like servers, in order to distribute work effectively, and get manufacturing done closer to the point of consumption.

 

These implications spell out a major shift in the economics of manufacturing, open up new design opportunities, and improve supply chain and aftermarket dynamics. Additive technology will change manufacturing in the same way the PC changed the finance industry.

The 2018 Worldwide Semiannual 3D printing Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC) shows global spending on 3D printing (including hardware, materials, software, and services) will be nearly $12.0 billion in 2018, an increase of 19.9 percent over 2017. By 2021, IDC expects worldwide spending to be nearly $20.0 billion with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.5 percent.

 

The desire, and often the need, for quickly getting to market is not limited to any one industry. Whether it is footwear, transportation, medical, or even white goods, speed to market is key. 3D printing gives companies the ability to create designs quickly, manufacture the part, test to meet quality control guidelines and adjust the design if needed. What might take months and significant investments in injection molding tools, now can take a few days or a couple of weeks.

It also enables fast design iterations. In some cases, 16 or more design iterations are possible in the time it takes to produce one run with injection molding. Additionally, customized parts can be created providing the personalization that so many consumers demand today.

 

A unique benefit of Additive Manufacturing is allowing brands to bring production much closer to the end user. Local distribution lowers costs and turnaround times, which result in less downtime.

Within the Heavy Equipment industry, for example, in the past when a part broke it could take several weeks to get a replacement part. The part would have to be ordered from the warehouse, shipped to an authorized dealer, and then delivered to the customer. With 3D printing, the one replacement part can be printed at a local print factory and delivered to the customer within a couple of days or even hours, depending on the part. This allows companies to reduce their inventory significantly which reduces their overall costs.

 

Through 3D printing, companies can consolidate their current supply chains and free up capital that was previously attributed to part inventory. By implementing just-in-time manufacturing methods that are made possible with additive manufacturing, the inventory of companies shifts from physical parts to raw digital files. This in turn reduces costs and waste of traditional manufacturing methods.

Jabil, one of the world's largest and most technologically advanced innovation, engineering and manufacturing solutions providers, recently announced their "Jabil Additive Manufacturing Network". They understand the potential of Additive Manufacturing and as such have cloud-connected a network of people, processes, machines and work orders together, to dramatically change how this company delivers services to its product (OEM) customers.

Included in this connected ecosystem, they have increased their expertise and Design for Additive Manufacturing capabilities; extending their machine capacity to facilities in the United States, China, Hungary, Mexico, Singapore and Spain.

Further, a variety of 3D printing machines have been installed across the Jabil footprint for high-speed sintering, fused filament fabrication, polymer and metal laser sintering and other processes, to address emerging customer needs. At Jabil's Singapore facility, they demonstrate true just-in-time manufacturing with HP's Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) printers. Jabil produces over 140 parts for the MJF printers.

 

 

 

1. 3D printing is an example of

 

 

• reverse innovation

 

• Experiential innovation

 

• incremental innovation

 

• process innovation

 

2. Subtractive manufacturing involves

 

 

• brick-&-Click manufacturing

 

• 3D printing

 

• cutting, chopping or bending metal, plastic or wood

 

• manufacturing without human touch

 

 

3. OEM customers are

 

 

• those customers who buy the product for the first time

 

• Original Equipment Manufacturers' customers

 

• Other Equipment Manufacturers' customers

 

• Option 1 and 3

 

 

4. 3D printed products would include

 

• engine, airframe and other components

 

• Medical models

 

• bodies of cars and trucks

 

• All of the above

 

 

5. 3D printing help

 

 

• reducing wastage

 

• manufacture with no human involvement

 

• industries with low capital requirements

 

• industries with high capital requirements

 

 

6. Need for innovation is

 

 

• process of maintaining status-quo

 

• desire for change

 

• process of invention

 

• option 2 and 3

 

 

7. Additive manufacturing is also known as

 

 

• brick-&-Click manufacturing

 

• 3D printing

 

• manufacturing with green-resources

 

• manufacturing without human touch

 

 

8. 3D printed products would include

 

 

• engine, airframe and other components

 

• Medical models

 

• bodies of cars and trucks

 

• All of the above

 

 

9. Use of technology in manufacturing will

 

 

• reduce employment

 

• reduce wastage

 

• better use of resources

 

• both 2 and 3

 

10. Technologies such as 3D printing will help the manufacturers

 

 

• in better customizing the products

 

• in reducing the wastage

 

• better use of resources

 

• All of the above

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5^th Module assessment

 

 

Case Study

 

To survive and stay competitive in the current economic climate shipping companies must find innovative ways of working by embracing modern technology. In a complex industry known for being conservative and slow to adapt to new technologies, are companies aware of the possibilities?

 

Outside the industry technology (linear or non-linear) is causing the biggest shake up of processes and ways of working since the industrial revolution and shipping companies are beginning to understand its potential. Global management consultants McKinsey recently highlighted: “Over the past few years, rapid technological advances in digitisation and data and analytics have been reshaping the business landscape, supercharging performance and enabling the emergence of new business innovations and new forms of competition and business disruption.”

 

Many technologies used in other sectors can be applied to shipping. There is now a huge opportunity to accelerate the digital transformation of the shipping industry. Technology enables shipping companies to optimise the management of their entire fleet, automate processes, increase their business performance, improve operational efficiencies and drive down costs. Universal technology transfers start with scientific discoveries rather than filing of patents.

 

We see enormous potential for further progress driven by technology. Already, there’s been commitment from the industry to bring the internet on board and make it available constantly. This will bring great advances in terms of real-time data exchange, integrating the fleet directly into all processes and enabling operators to gain a 360 ° overview of all events that are happening within their fleet. This is a major step forward. Currently most ships are hardly integrated into the internal processes of the companies.

 

As an industry with such complex management processes, this lack of ability to collaborate and poor visibility of operations is risky and can lead to decisions and forecasts being made based on minimal information. But even without the option for constant internet connection on board – the use of modern management solutions, potentially cloud-based ones which offer one central source of information for the office and the fleet is already bringing great benefits in terms of improved data and information exchange, as well as reduction of communication expenditures.

 

There will also be great advances in terms of data analysis. Starting in 2018, the new EU MRV regulation will become effective. This will force shipping companies to monitor a variety of parameters. This also marks the first step towards actual performance management and should lay the foundation for an increase in the use of data analytics, leading to better predictions for optimal routes, fuel consumptions and the maintenance of machinery. The result will be a massive saving of costs.

 

Other potential game changers include mobility and cloud-technology, which are expected to have a significant impact on the way shipping companies operate in the future. There have been considerable advances in these fields. The benefits of using cloud technology, as well as mobile devices, are numerous. They include the ease of data access and the availability of information regardless of time or location. Additionally, the cloud makes it much easier to integrate external systems and processes, through interfaces (APIs), e.g. web hooks into each other.

The cloud is being embraced by some of the world’s leading shipping companies who are taking advantage of increasingly affordable and accessible cloud platforms to implement smarter, faster and more effective processes.

 

 

 

 

1. Use of technologies can

 

• help the players improve performance

 

• reduce employment

 

• reduce unemployment

 

• option 1 and 3

 

 

2. Cross usage of technologies

 

 

• is possible

 

• is desirable

 

• is not desirable

 

• option 1 and 2

 

 

3. 360 degree overview mentioned in the case refers to

 

 

• scenario building

 

• holistic view of the issues in hand

 

• bird's Eve View of the issues in hand

 

• selective references of issues

 

 

 

 

 

4. Performance measurement mentioned in the case refers to

 

 

• scenario building

 

• 360 degree view of a specific situation

 

• assessing the improvement in performance over time

 

• Option 1 and 2

               

 

5. The Linear Model of Technology Transfer

 

 

• Regards technology transfer as a process that can, and should, be planned

 

• Emphasises multi-directional linkages, interdependency between hard technology and softer issues of people, management and information flows

 

• Regards technology transfer as something that should not be planned

 

• Emphasises the relationship aspect of technology transfer

 

 

6. Business disruption, mentioned in the case refers to

 

 

• understanding the new customer needs

 

• understanding Micro environment

 

• understanding Macro environment

 

• Changing the status quo

 

 

7. Potential game changers, as mentioned in the case, are

 

 

• cloud-technology

 

• mobility

 

• both 1 and 2

 

• Neither 1 nor 2

 

 

8. What is digital transformation?

 

 

• Digitization to improve performance

 

• Digits used to code the process to reduce confusion

 

• creative distruction used to perform better

 

• option 1 and 3

 

 

9. The Non-Linear Model of Technology Transfer:

 

 

• Emphasises multi-directional linkages, interdependency between hard technology and softer issues of people, management and information flows

 

• Regards technology transfer as something that should not be planned

 

• Emphasises the relationship aspect of technology transfer

 

• All of the above

 

 

10. The sequencing of events in terms of universal technology transfer usually begins with:

 

 

• Invention disclosure

 

• Scientific discovery

 

• Evaluation of the commercial potential

 

• Filing a patent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment 2

 

 

Case Study

 

Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a potter living in rural Gujarat, is completely untaught in English. But the lack of formal education has not hindered this grassroots entrepreneur from building a thriving business using just clay. Prajapati, who belongs to Nichimandal, a village in Rajkot, Gujarat, is the founder of Mitticool Clay Creation, a company that makes refrigerators, water filters, cookers, hot plates and other such items of daily use from clay. It all began when Prajapati first built a clay refrigerator that naturally cools the food inside, and does not depend on conventional sources of energy. This cooling process can keep water, fruits and vegetables fresh for a week, while milk can be preserved for three days. The product now is priced at just `2,000 — almost one-tenth of the basic refrigerator models from LG, or Whirlpool.

 

"This fridge also preserves the original taste of vegetables and fruits," says Prajapati. Mitticool's products have captured the imagination of the rural areas. Today it has revenues of around `30 lakh and has sold over one lakh products in just six years since it started off. Prajapati is among the new breed of several hundred grassroots innovators in India who are using imagination and innovation to solve basic issues of deprivation at the bottom of the pyramid.

 

Such innovations are finding a market not just in India but also in other emerging markets and even developed nations. For instance, while Prajapati sells to Indian retailers such as Big Bazaar, he says that the same products have also reached customers in London, America, Singapore and Africa, thanks to the National Innovation Foundation (NIF). "We are reversing the model of globalisation. It is now emerging from India," says professor Anil Gupta, faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and executive vice-chairman of NIF. "This model is not about business to consumers, but grassroot to global markets."

 

"India's rural market spread along 600,000 villages, covering 110 million rural households and over 700 million people. This offers huge market for low-priced utility products," says Paul Basil, founder and CEO, Villgro Innovations Foundation, an NGO that focuses on rural markets. These innovations are becoming a force to reckon with at a time when large corporations are spending billions of dollars to kick-start new innovations.

 

Just as Jeganathan's mission is to cut infant mortality, the common factor for innovation at the grassroots level is the impact they have on a large number of people. Piramal Water is a for-profit business set up under the aegis of the Piramal Foundation. The company provides medium-scale water purification machines to rural franchisees. These franchise owners in turn distribute the clean water to the households in the area surrounding the unit. The company has 117 franchises and provides potable water to around 65,000 rural Indians. "We provide the machine, maintenance and servicing," said Anand Shah, CEO, Piramal Water. The franchise owner pays `2 lakh upfront and 40% of the revenues to Sarvajal. A can of 20 litres of drinking water is made available at just `4. "We are not just providing clean water, we are also trying to create rural entrepreneurs," says Shah.

 

Despite so many innovations, only firms like SKEPL have been able to scale up. "For these innovations to scale and reach to global audience, it is important that ventures are run as for-profit businesses," says Rita Soni, CEO, Nasscom Foundation. Despite all these, India is set to become a hub for grassroot innovations and a test market for MNCs to tap other emerging countries as well. According to NIF's Gupta, large corporations cannot think the way these innovators can, because they are closer to the problem. "They are teaching them new rules. The future is going to be dematerialised economy as it will be driven by knowledge," says Gupta of NIF.

 

 

 

 

1. The innovation mentioned in the case can be categorized as

 

 

• Product Innovation

 

• Process Innovation

 

• Service Innovation

 

• Vertical Innovation

 

 

2. The innovation mentioned in the case, targets

 

 

• Top of the pyramid customers

 

• Bottom of the pyramid customers

 

• middle of the pyramid customers

 

• The complete pyramid of customers

 

 

3. Reversing the model of globalization as mentioned in the case is all about

 

 

• reverse innovation

 

• Horizontal Innovation

 

• Global Innovation

 

• Local Innovation

 

 

 

 

 

4. Innovation can help to provide a temporary competitive advantage when

 

 

• barriers to entry are high

 

• barriers to imitation are low and intellectual property rights are difficult to enforce

 

• there are few other competitors

 

• barriers to entry are low

 

 

5. For-profit businesses refers to

 

 

• business run to address customers' new needs

 

• business run to create demands

 

• business run to make money

 

• business run to work only on innovations

 

 

 

6. Dematerialised economy mentioned in the case refers to

 

 

• economy as it will be driven by knowledge

 

• economy as it will be driven by innovation

 

• economy as it will be driven by invention

 

• economy as it will be driven by large corporates

 

 

7. Established firms relative to new firms are better at:

 

 

• all types of innovation

 

• innovation which is competence-enhancing

 

• innovation which is competence-destroying

 

• Innovation which is disruptive

 

 

8. The concept of G2G referred in the case is

 

 

• Grassroots-to-global markets

 

• Global-to-grassroots markets

 

• Glocal-to-global markets

 

• Global-to-global markets

 

 

9. Which of the following is not an external force of change?

 

 

• marketplace

 

• government laws and regulations

 

• economic changes

 

• workforce

 

 

10. Which of the following are valuable in a standards war?

 

 

• Competitive advantage

 

• Late mover advantage

 

• Early mover advantage

 

• Technological advantage