Finding, Forming and Performing: Creating Networks for Discontinuous InnovationBirkinshaw, Bessant & Delbridge (2007)

Group 5b:Henrik Engervall

Erik IngemanssonKarl Nielsen

Teresia Schullström

This article is about Discontinuous innovation and networks that can be used to create these innovations.

Discontinuous innovation = Implementation of technologies, products or business models that represents a dramatic departure from the current state of art in the industry.

The idea is that a firm must be able to step away from its old business model and adapt a new model that serves the fast growing world better. If this is not done the business can suffer great market losses (e.g. Polaroid camera).

There has always been a need for Discontinuous innovation but the need has grown the last years due to a faster development.

EXAMPLES OF NETWORKS FOR DISCONTINUOUS INNOVATION

FINDING AND FORMING NETWORKS

Problems when:

• Finding a partner Geography, technology and institutions makes it more difficult to find a partner

• Forming a relationship with a partner Ideological, demographical and ethnical barriers makes it harder to form a partner

These issues results in a matrix with four generic approaches to network building (the matrix is displayed in the next slide).

THE FOUR GENERIC APPROACHES

1. Creating networks in proximate areas:Creating networks in proximate areas is relatively straightforward, but it requires a significant investment on the part of the firm to ensure that the knowledge and insights of the partners are internalized.

• Approach the potential new partners directly; you know who they are and there is every reason to think they will be receptive to your proposals.

• Structure the relationship carefully to overcome the institutional or demographic differences that separate you; lead users and university professors often have very different world views to profit-making firms, and it takes time to understand what motivates and excites them.

• Build personal relationships at the interfaces with partners to ensure that knowledge transfer occurs; otherwise the potential of the relationships will be squandered.

2. Seeking out new networks in distant areas• Rather than attempting to do it yourself, new potential partners are best approached through

boundary spanners or scouts who specialize in building and maintaining relationships with many people.

• Be prepared to accept redundancy or duplication in the networks that you create; they are designed to be learning opportunities, not contracts for specific services.

• Do not underestimate the difficulty of absorbing the insights gained from these distant networks; give specific individuals direct responsibility for internalizing and applying the knowledge gained

3. Building relationships with unusual partners• Focus on the higher-order purpose or issue that transcends your differences; it may be a major

concern such as global warming or disease prevention, or it may be a common “enemy” that you are both competing with.

• Be prepared for a lengthy dialogue to take place before the new partners begin to trust you; the process of mutual adjustment often takes years.

• Try to identify cross-over individuals who have switched allegiance from the world of the prospective partner to your world; they can be very useful in proposing the appropriate ways of making the personal connections between the two sides.

4. Moving into uncharted territoryThis involves a combination of the tactics in number 2 and 3 since it involves both a distant area and a unusual partner.

TURNING NEW NETWORKS INTO PERFORMING PARTNERS

• Keep the network up to date and engaged

• Build trust and reciprocity across the network (to make the relationship more effective)

• Understanding your own role in the network

• Learning to let go

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Birkinshaw, Bessant & Delbridge (2007) – Finding, Forming and Performing: Creating Networks for Discontinuous Innovation

Image page 1: Porter Novelli Global @ Flickr