Business Innovation Concepts Quiz

Innovation Manager Contact Information

• Name: dr Jakub Tomczak
• Email: [email protected]
• Consultations: Tuesdays, 18:30
• Location: Dobra 55, room 0.619
• Appointments require prior e-mail arrangement

Class Test Details

• Format: Closed and open-ended questions
• Passing score: 60% correct answers
• Total questions: 18
• Closed questions: 16 (each worth 1 point)
• Open questions: 2 (each worth 2 points)
• Exam time: 25 minutes

Test Scoring

• 19-20 points: 5.0
• 17-18 points: 4.5
• 15-16 points: 4.0
• 13-14 points: 3.5
• 12 points: 3.0

Recommended Literature

• Oslo Manual 2018: Guidelines for Collecting, Reporting and Using Data on Innovation, 4th Edition, OECD iLibrary
• The Innovation Book: How to Manage Ideas and Execution for Outstanding Results - Max McKeown
• Strategic Innovation Management, Joe T., John Wiley & Sons, 2021
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Peter F. Drucker
• The Innovator's DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators, Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal B. Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen
• Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age, Greg Satell
• The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business, Clayton M. Christensen
• Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
• Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness, Frederic Laloux
• Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation, Gary P. Pisano
• Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur
• Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works, Ash Maurya
• The Myths of Innovation, Scott Berkun
• Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today's Business While Creating the Future, Scott D. Anthony, Clark G. Gilbert, Mark W. Johnson
• Cascades: How to Create Transformational Change, Greg Satell

Innovation - Basic Definition

• Innovation is the implementation of new ideas that add value.

Criteria for Innovation

• New: The idea must be novel within the specific context
• Done: The idea must be implemented and put into action
• Value Add: The idea must create genuine value, satisfy a need, or address a problem

Innovation vs. Invention

• Invention is the act of creating something new to solve a problem
• Invention becomes innovation when successfully taken to market. This often requires collaboration with others (e.g., entrepreneurs or licensing).

Innovation vs. Creativity

• Creativity encompasses the conceptualisation of new and interesting ideas
• Innovation occurs when these ideas are implemented effectively

Innovation vs. Technology

• Introducing new technology does not automatically equate to innovation. Layering new technology onto existing processes is digitisation, not innovation. The true innovation lies in the idea behind its implementation

Types of Innovation

• Incremental: Small improvements to existing products, services, or processes, targeting familiar markets/technologies (e.g., Gillette razors, Coca-Cola line extensions)
• Disruptive: New technology applied to an existing market, creating a new value proposition and potentially overtaking the established market leaders (e.g., Netflix, Uber, Airbnb)
• Radical: Breakthrough innovation establishing new markets and using novel technologies, sometimes creating new entire industries (e.g., SpaceX's reusable rockets, 3D printing, lab-produced blood)

Three Types of Innovation

• Product/service: Creating a new or improving an existing product/service
• Process: Implementing changes to improve or increase process efficiency
• Business model: Transforming operations to increase value/engagement for customers

Innovation Process Stages

• Identify opportunities
• Generate ideas
• Evaluate and select ideas
• Develop and prototype
• Test and iterate
• Implement and scale
• Monitor and evaluate

Business Model Innovation

• Redefines how businesses create, deliver, and capture value
• Explores new revenue streams, cost structures, partnerships, and customer engagement strategies aimed at market disruption and differentiation

Business Model Innovation Categories

• New revenue models (e.g., subscription-based)
• Value proposition innovation (e.g., unique product features)
• Cost structure innovation (e.g., cost-saving opportunities, optimizing resource allocation)
• Distribution channel innovation (e.g., finding new channels)
• Platform and ecosystem innovation (e.g., building platforms)
• Business model reinvention (e.g., reimagining entire business models)

Importance of Business Model Innovation

• Competitive advantage, adaptation to change, revenue growth, improved customer value, operational efficiency, business resilience, attracting investment & partnerships, organizational renewal

Top 10 Best Practices for Innovation

• Customer-centric approach
• Embracing a growth mindset
• Collaborative and cross-functional approach
• Data-driven decision-making
• Iterative and agile approach
• External insights & open-innovation
• Prototyping & minimum viable products (MVPs)
• Intellectual property protection
• Scalability and long-term viability
• Continuous monitoring and adaptation

Innovation Cycle Stages

• Search
• Build
• Scale
• Expand
• Sustain

Innovation Management Principles

• Realization of value
• Future-focused leaders
• Strategic direction
• Culture
• Exploiting insights
• Managing uncertainty
• Adaptable structures
• System approach

Main Tools for Generating Innovation (Brainstorming)

• Coggle
• MindMeister
• Miro
• Parabol
• Jira
• Trello
• Monday.com

Barriers to Innovation

• Lack of time
• Lack of leadership
• Limited resources/capacity
• Lack of focus
• No clear process
• Fear
• Lack of collaboration
• Too many ideas, not enough action/delivery
• Short-term thinking
• Organizational issues relating to innovation failures
• Lack of urgency
• Resistance to change
• Failure to look at innovation behaviors
• Failure to understand why innovation is difficult
• Failure to understand customer adoption curve
• Inherent conflicts between maintaining the status quo and fostering innovation culture

Project in Jira

• Short description of project/product/service
• Justification of the choice
• Functional scope
• Potential market competition
• Type of innovation
• Scale of innovation
• Company Strengths Weaknesses Opportunity Threats (SWOT)
• Monetization strategy

Lean Startup Methodology

• Focuses on efficient product and business development
• Iterative process of building, measuring, and learning within real-world contexts
• Aims to reduce the risk of building products unresponsive to existing market requirements or problems

Innovation Management Methods

• Companies supporting an innovation culture encourage employees
• Discipline and cyclic approaches are useful (ideation, value assessment, prototyping, testing, evaluation)

Test your knowledge on key concepts of business innovation, including disruptive and incremental innovations, effective risk management, and business model innovation. This quiz covers essential elements that organizations must understand to enhance their innovative solutions and strategies.