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THE DA VINCI REPORT WI N TE R 2011 I SSU E

NAME: Tirhani Mabunda EMAIL: Tirhani@tirhani.co.za MODULE TITLE: Management of Innovation

Management of Innovation – Tirhani Mabunda

“Innovation is synonymous to neither creativity nor technology. Creativity generates the ideas that start innovations. No matter how good ideas are, they are of no benefit unless they get transformed into tangible and practical products, services, processes or business models and successfully implemented in the marketplace.” (Bessant, 2009)

THERE ARE TWO FORMS of inno- vation: incremental and radical. The former refines and improves an existing design whereas the latter introduces a new concept that departs in a significant way from past practice.

The two have such different com- petitive consequences because they require different organisa- tional capabilities. Burns and Stalker (1966) contend that “incremental innovation rein- forces the capabilities of estab- lished organisations, while radical innovation forces them to ask a new set of questions, to draw on new technical and commercial skills, and to employ new prob- lem-solving approaches.” Radical innovation often creates great difficulties for established firms and can be the basis for the successful entry of new firms or even redefinition of an industry.

Incremental innovation may not be glamorous and instantly no- ticeable but it is by far the most common and effective. It involves more people, is low-risk and high- frequency. It comes about when people and organisations gradu- ally but continuously improve their products and services. The effects of incremental innova-

tion are sustaining, whereas those of radical innovation are disrup- tive. This disruption is not neces- sarily negative as radical innovation often results in the establishment of new markets or reshaping of existing markets.

Innovation can also be cate- gorised by one of four intended directions of change: n Product innovation (changing the product or service offered by the business);

n Process innovation (changing the methods used to create and deliver the product or service);

n Market innovation (changing the market or positioning of the product or service), or

n Business model innovation (changing the value chain or structure of the business).

Creative roles

I believe it is vital to foster and in- tegrate various creativity roles within my business, Tirhani Auc- tioneers, and encourage employ- ees to develop their creativity in ways that are appropriate to their areas of responsibility. The four creativity roles outlined here are sourced mainly from Roger Von Oech’s book “A whack on the side of the head”.

34 Management Today | September 2011

MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION