Dr. Iris Berdrow Bentley College, Harvard Summer School

Modelling Innovation Based on course materials and lectures you will be developing your own model to explain innovation performance within an organization and its impact on business results.

Components of Models What will the model explain? What factors are important? What is the relationship between factors? What will the model look like?

Mathematical Equation Models

Pictoral Model

Linear Model

Predictive Model Innovation Performance Internal Process Innovation Service Innovation New Product Innovation Business Results Growth Profits ROI P1 Strategic – Transformational Leadership P2 Organization Culture P3 Innovation Processes P5 P4 Societal Culture P6 P7 P8 P9 McDonough & Berdrow, 2007 ©

Characteristics Schema by which we understand the world. Depict our understanding of relationships, processes, components. To be useful models must mirror reality, help predict and explain, and be flexible. If we gain new information or disprove held beliefs our model will change. The model must be reliable (i.e. repeated applications will bring predicted results), accurate (the results must be what we expected), and useful (it must include things that are recognizable).

For Example… Picture in your mind the model for achieving high grades. Draw it on a piece of paper. What does it look like? What did you include? What experiences did you draw from to create this model? Is everyone’s the same? Will yours be the same as mine? Will it be useful in guiding your behavior?

Your model should… Be a conceptual model (as opposed to physical, mathematical, statistical, etc.) Represent your own understanding of the salient factors, concepts and/or activities by which an organization can achieve innovation performance and business performance. Show the relationship between elements.

What is Innovation? In The Economy of Cities, Jacobs (1970) defines innovation as the process by which new work is added to old divisions of labor, thus creating new products, processes, or ideas, and thus also new divisions of labor. Feldman (2000, 373) adds that “innovation is the novel application of economically valuable knowledge”. In other words, innovation is a process of creating new, profitable products and ideas by combining observations or insights taken from elsewhere to the work one had previously been doing (Desrochers 2001, 378).

What is your definition of innovation?

Innovation Complexities Is there such a thing as a completely new idea? A completely new innovation? Tucker (and others) argues that all organizations must innovate and innovation must be everyone’s responsibility within the organization. Do you agree? Are there situations in which being innovative is in fact detrimental? Or at least, would not enhance business performance?

Tomorrow - Types of Innovation Product Service Internal (Process)