Innovation, Suffocation & Trump Nation

Innovation at best is like watering a nice healthy plant, making it grow and blossom; however, watering without the plant is just getting the dirt wet. Nothing happens. Currently, all over the world and with more than 100 major innovation themed events yearly, complete with great photo opportunities for local and national leadership, most nations have little to show for these super expensive efforts. It seems that we talk a lot about innovation and find ourselves stuck in the suffocation of great ideas. And, suddenly the Trump nation erupts on a high note!

The Importance of Collaboration in the Digital Economy

What’s the future for the connected car, for digital financial services, or for smart and sustainable cities in the new industrial reality? How are innovations and technical developments in 5G, the Internet of Things and spectrum management impacting on future networks and future businesses? And if meaningful, affordable connectivity is the single best bet for accelerating socio-economic development and meeting the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), how can we ensure we reach the billions of unconnected most in need?

Innovation Management in Emerging Markets

When it comes to innovation management, I see a growing number of companies in emerging countries like Turkey, Mexico and Brazil doing a better job than their counterparts in developed (primarily Western) countries. There are many reasons for this and here you get some of my observations.

From “Premium” to “Good Enough”: Frugal Innovation in the Emerging Markets

Frugal engineering means developing simple products for emerging markets and is becoming increasingly important for many companies. Frugal products are not cheap or inferior, they are simplified and yet qualitatively robust. But how can frugal products be developed successfully?

Mobilising Africa

Africa is growing – economically, in terms of population, and more importantly in terms of investment and market opportunities. Investments in internet and mobile technologies are critical to enabling that growth and these are growing too. Some are also suggesting that Africa could leapfrog other markets and jump straight to the cognitive computing era, enabled by the latest technologies and rapid expansion of big data, which would be a real game changer not just in Africa, but world-wide.

2021-12-05T09:40:50-08:00February 27th, 2013|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Jugaad Innovation

Studying how companies in the emerging markets innovate can offer Western engineers and designers important inspiration, and challenge them to develop products that are much cheaper. Such “frugal solutions” will become increasingly important in order to stay relevant in the stagnant markets of the West – as well as for the upcoming global middle class of developing countries. This study focuses on the “jugaad” innovation of India.

Innovation’s Silent Killer

If they want to compete successfully in the future, companies should hold off on rapid ideation and faster commercialization until they take an unflinching look at what is truly stifling breakthrough innovation. In this article, Soren Kristensen provides insight on how honest self-reflection can free you from your biggest impediment to growth.

A Business Model Innovation Lesson in Personal Sanitation Products

Kay Plantes never thought toilets could be so interesting. During a recent trip to China, she realized that they provide a rich example of thinking beyond one product when pursuing innovation.

Case Study on How Collaboration Drives Innovation in Emerging Economies

Collaboration is as much relevant to social innovation as it is for corporate houses for technology innovations. Collaboration, in fact, could provide added advantages with respect to the hidden culture related challenges & budgetary constraints when used for a social cause. In this article by Madhu Mani & Jayesh Badani, you will learn how a consortium of NGOs, Academia and Financial institutions from India, Netherlands and France came together to tap into the power of collaborative innovation.

The Great Innovation Challenge of the 21st Century

Global economic challenges that have had a profound affect on businesses will continue to do so indefinitely. This means that businesses must not only innovate in order to survive, but they will need to innovate in new ways to meet the changing needs, expectations and financial situations of their customers.

How to Harness the Value of Outsourcing-led Innovation

Companies who are engaged in developing innovation processes are also likely to be involved in outsourcing significant aspects of their operations. So how do you innovate when you've also outsourced? Sanjiv Gossain explores the issues.

Identifying and Exploiting New Markets in Growing Economies

The importance of new markets to growth can’t be overstated. But emerged, emerging and frontier markets are not just about growth. They are a perfect opportunity to extend our innovation capabilities. IM takes a look at the lessons of India as a product frontier.

Technology Entrepreneurship for Emerging Markets – An Ecosystem Approach

Technology Entrepreneurship (TE) offers unique development opportunities for societies to educate and grow local talent, build diversity and long term economic health. GATE –Global Accelerators of Technology Entrepreneurship – is an initiative to support TE in emerging economies by leveraging the entrepreneurial ecosystems and international networks centered at US research universities.

Students Innovating for Emerging Markets

Existing technologies, such as telecommunications, are often designed for the developed world. But an innovative focus is also urgently needed to address issues in developing countries. This is something that the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, has acted upon and is sending students to Africa with the purpose to identify needs and develop innovative solutions. Read more in this interview with Professor Margareta Norell Bergendahl.