Reference no: EM132283619

Assignment

1. Define the following terms in just a sentence or two:

(a) Technology spillovers

(b) Core rigidities

(c) Stage-gate process

(d) Agglomeration economies

(e) Competence-enhancing innovation

2. Why do technology improvements and technology diffusion exhibit S-shaped curves? Can these curves be used to prescribe (or predict) when a company should move to a new more radical technology? Why or why not?

3. What are network externalities? How do network externalities influence value of a product/service? What are the implications of network externalities for standards battles and design dominance?

4. You have been hired recently as the R&D director of a company that sells two popular, patented products that have been doing well for the past ten years. The CEO, who took over the family-owned company on his brother's death five years ago, used a risk-averse philosophy of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". So, his primary focus has been on making incremental improvements to the two products over the five years. But, several competitors have figured how to invent around the company's patents and develop better products and, during the past year, competition has increased.

At a recent conference he attended, the CEO had listened to short presentations on the ‘real options method' for evaluating projects. He also heard about two approaches for choosing and managing R&D projects called the ‘innovation portfolio' approach and the ‘aggregate project planning framework' approach. The CEO wants to know whether these are appropriate for implementation at the company and, if they are appropriate, the challenges (especially resources and capabilities needed, and new hires) for  implementing them (especially given the growing competitive threat to the company's products). What would you advise him? Why?

5. What are the key challenges associated with using open innovation to complement internal R&D? How can these challenges be managed?

6. We read and discussed "The Bakeoff" article during the term. What did you learn from this article about managing new product development and managing product development teams? Discuss these lessons explicitly referring to appropriate concepts from Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 in the textbook.

7. What is a disruptive innovation? Why is it difficult for incumbents (i.e. successful firms already in the industry) to develop disruptive innovations on their own, or compete with disruptive innovations developed by others? How can incumbents avoid being ‘disrupted'?

8. Think of an idea/opportunity for a new product or a service (or a process). Then, answer the following questions:

(a) First, based on your research on what already exists in the marketplace (e.g., existing patents, similar products/services/processes), evaluate how novel your idea is/opportunity is and how much market potential it has.

(b) Next, explain where your idea come from. In other words, what in your experience, knowledge or environment prompted you to think of the idea/opportunity?

(c) Finally, reflect on what it would take to develop your idea/opportunity into a commercially viable product/service/process. For instance, what strategy would you likely use? What capabilities/resources (including capital) would you need? What type of people would you need to hire? What type of company would you have to build?

What challenges would you encounter (including competition)? How would you address these challenges?