As a consequence of globalization and the constant changes in markets around the world and in all industries, organizations are exposed to different challenges in short periods of time, this forces them to be innovative and creative to meet the challenges faced. In this way the company can compete in a world that is constantly changing.
Innovation in organizations is when an improvement is generated in the defined structure of the business, it represents great changes in the organization, they can be in the production area, technological, or even in its business proposal, the objective of change is to be effective and efficient to position itself in the market.
Most of the time, organizations associate the term innovation with all technological tools and marry the erroneous idea of using these technologies represents being innovative, when innovating can be in the political, social, business, productive, commercial, marketing, etc. financial, human resources, etc.
Definition of innovation
Many authors and characters have made definitions of innovation, from their own perspective and point of view, some of these definitions are the following:
- The foundation for innovation COTEC1 (2014) defines innovation as “the art of turning ideas and knowledge into new or improved products, processes or services that the market values”, it focuses on the conversion of ideas and thoughts into products and services for markets.
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1 It is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to promote innovation for economic and social development
- According to Sherman Gee (1981), innovation “is the process in which, from an idea, invention or recognition of a need, a useful product, technique or service is developed, and it is commercially accepted”. Gee emphasizes that the process of innovation is to create and redirect efforts in the processes, departments and actions of companies to achieve a new product or service According to Escorsa and Valls (2005), "innovation is synonymous with change, the innovative company it is the one that changes, evolves, does new things, offers new products and adopts, or fine-tunes, new manufacturing processes ”.
Innovation in management
Organizations that want to be or remain market leaders must be in constant renewal, that is, be innovating their products and services all the time. This good practice allows the company to protect its good position in the market and to be able to face the attacks of the market rivals, likewise in order to be well positioned in the market, the following four benefits must be provided.
- Continuous creation of innovative products Improve quality of customer service Minimize operations costs Maintain efficient distribution channels
There are two purposes for which a business innovation is carried out, the first of these is to improve the competitive efficiency of an organization, through the implementation of substantial changes in the processes that companies develop in order to be competitive than the rivals of you are in the market. While the second purpose focuses on giving value to customers, taking into account their perception of the company, this through the reconversion of the organization's business model, where research is of the utmost importance to enter some industries.
The main virtues that organizations that are constantly innovating are:
- They easily adapt to the continuous changes in the environment They do not have rigid structures that prevent the development of new products They have a long-term vision that always seeks to always be out of the comfort zone Generates transcendent competitive advantages
(Baumgartner, 2013)
Ocean blue
A very interesting business strategy for organizations is when they generate a new and innovative product that for a period of time has no competition, is installed in a market called "ocean blue2" where it is the only one of its kind. This strategy is about creating an article of great added value for customers, completely different from existing products on the market.
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2 Blue ocean in the English language
Innovation strategy
The development of an Ocean blue strategy is a complex activity, a detailed analysis must be carried out where the main characteristics for which there is competition in the market must be located, in order to change these to focus on others that make a difference and a new trend in competition for the market.
Delete variables
The blue ocean strategy proposes to remove any variable from an industry that can help reduce the price of a product or that in a business model would not have any importance when optimizing the rest of the business, a good example is the airlines that removed the seats First-class to reduce ticket costs and make the most of spaces, allowing for a significant increase in efficiency.
Reduce variables
When transforming a business strategy, the variables that do not generate added value and only increase the cost of the product are located; for these situations, the quality of the items or their quantity can be reduced to reduce costs or the cost can also be reduced. delivery time so that the end consumer has the feeling of a very good quality of service.
TO
When in a blue ocean strategy we talk about increasing a variable, it is focused on these variables considerably benefiting the value proposition of any product or service, thus we seek to increase things such as: quality of service, use of material premium that a product becomes cheaper or that a variable that has low current importance in an industry increases.
Generate a variable
This strategy is based on generating new variables completely unknown to competitors, relying on creativity and even variables that other industries and markets have. A good example of this inclusion of variables is the Circo du Soleil, which included elements of the theater in its show.
(William, 2015)
Innovation models
Throughout the study of processes to innovate, different models have been developed, some of the most prominent and accepted by the general literature are: linear model, model by stages, interactive model and network model.
Linear models
Also known as the first and second generation model, its main characteristic is the linear conception of the innovation procedure, this model is extremely basic, however, it lays the foundations of the most elaborate models of today. It is established as the conversion procedure where some entries are converted into products through a series of steps.
A relevant linear model that emerged after the Second World War was the technology push. This model takes into account the development of innovation through causality that begins with scientific knowledge and reaches a product through sequential processes with the aim of obtaining an economic benefit, the steps of this model are presented in figure one. (Forrest, 1991)
Technology push model. (Rothwell, 1994)
Staged models
The staged models, like the linear ones, consider innovation as a sequential process but with special emphasis on the departments or areas that are in charge of each stage of the sequence. Two main stages are contemplated in the model, the formulation of an idea or innovation and the commercialization of the idea.
Some important figures such as Saren (1984) define the innovation process in terms of the different related departments as: “an idea that becomes an input3 for the R&D department, from there it goes on to the design, engineering, production, marketing and finally, it is obtained as output4 of the process as a product. Illustration two shows the process of the model by departmental stages.
Model by departmental stages. (Saren, 1984)
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3 Entry into the English language
4 Exit in the English language
Interactive models
Also known as mixed models, third generation models are considered, these types of models are focused on cost management and control in order to reduce waste generated in organizations.
The chain link model or chain-link model5 is one of the main interactive models, it was developed by Kline and Rosenberg (1986). This has the particular characteristic that instead of handling a single course of action generates five, these courses intertwine the areas of importance of innovation: research, knowledge and the central chain of innovation processes, as shown in the illustration three.
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5 Chain-link in the English language
Chain-link model. (Lkine & Rosenberg, 1986)
Network Models
The network models or also known as fifth generation, highlights the learning that is generated in companies and in their relationship between them, so this model defines innovation as a process that is essentially generated in a process distributed by a network.
At present, organizations continue to build strategic networks and the speed with which they react to the market is a key factor for competitiveness, which is why they seek to have better adaptability and flexibility in companies. According to this model, innovation is increasingly transformed into a network activity with the distinctive characteristic of the use of electronic tools to increase speed and efficiency when bringing new and innovative products to the market, as shown in illustration four. (Trott, 2002).
Example of network model. (Trott, 1998)
Bibliography
Baumgartner, J. (February 2013). The seven essential characteristics of innovative companies. Obtained from http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/03/20/las-siete- caracteristicas-essential-de-las-companias-innovaitarias /
COTEC. (June 2014). We share experiences in innovation. Obtained from
Escorsa, P. and. (2005). Technology and innovation in the company. Mexico: Alfaomega. Forrest, JE (1991). Model of the process of Technological Innovation. Technology Analysis.
Gee, S. (1981). Technologu transfer, innovation & International competitives. New York: Wiley & Sons.
Kline, S., & Rosenberg, N. (1986). An overview of innovation. Economic Growth. Rothwell, R. (1994). Towards the fifth generation innovation process. International Marketing Review.
Saren, MA (1984). A classification and review of models of innovation process.
R&D mANAGEMENT.
Trott, P. (2002). Innovation Management and New Product Development. London: Prentice Hall.
William, S. (2015). Gestiopolis. Obtained from Creativity and innovation: http://www.gestiopolis.com/creatividad-e-innovacion-en-la-gestion- Empresarial /
Thesis proposal
Title:
Development of an established methodology for the development of Innovation
Corporate in SMEs in the Córdoba-Orizaba region.
Objective:
Promote the development of new products and services in SMEs in the area
Córdoba-Orizaba through an innovation process.
Thanks
I thank the Technological Institute of Orizaba for allowing me to do a postgraduate degree in Administrative Engineering for my academic preparation, as well as Professor Fernando Aguirre Hernández who teaches the subject of fundamentals of administrative engineering for encouraging me to write formal and relevant articles.
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