The Innovation Journey

by Van de Ven, Andrew; Polley, Douglas; Garud, Raghu; Venkataraman, Sankaran

• ISBN13: 9780195341003
• ISBN10: 0195341007
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Innovation Journey presents the results of a major longitudinal study that examined the process of innovation from concept to implementation of new technologies, products, processes, and administrative arrangements. Its findings call into question most of the explanations of theinnovation process that have been proposed in the past. The Minnesota Innovation Research Program, on which this book is based, involved over 30 researchers who undertook longitudinal studies that tracked the development of 14 diverse innovations in real time and in their natural field settings. Studying its results, the authors find that the innovationjourney is neither sequential and orderly, nor is it a matter of random trial and error; rather it is best characterized as a nonlinear dynamic system. The system consists of a cycle of divergent and convergent activities that may be repeated over time and at different organizational levels if enabling and constraining conditions are present. This divergent-convergent cycle is found to be the underlying dynamic that explains the development ofcorporate cultures for innovation, learning among innovation team members, leadership behaviors of top managers or investors, building relationships and joint ventures with other organizations, and developing an industrial infrastructure for innovation. Resource investments and organizationalstructure enable this innovation cycle, while external institutional rules and internal focus draw the boundaries of the journey. The authors conclude with advice for innovation managers and entrepreneurs: learn to "go with the flow," because while they can learn to maneuver through the innovation journey, they cannot control its flow.

Author Biography

Sankaran Venkataraman is the MasterCard Professor of Business Administration and Research Director of the Batten Institute at the Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction and Overview	p. 3
The Process Model
Mapping the Innovation Journey	p. 21
Learning the Innovation Journey	p. 67
Leading the Innovation Journey	p. 95
Managing Relationships during the Innovation Journey	p. 125
Building an Infrastructure for the Innovation Journey	p. 149
Cycling the Innovation Journey	p. 181
Cases in Different Organizational Settings
The Innovation Journey within an Internal Corporate Structure: The 3M Cochlear Implant Case	p. 223
The Innovation Journey in an Interorganizational Joint Venture: The Therapeutic Apheresis Case	p. 291
The Innovation Journey in a New Company Start-Up: The Qnetics Case	p. 335
Bibliography	p. 383
Index	p. 403
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