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Requirement
Imagine that you have been appointed as an external innovation management consultant to an organisation that you currently work in or have previously worked in. Your task is to report to the CEO / MD with an innovation action plan that takes into account the financial and resource constraints that the organisation faces. The plan must be both engaging and implementable.
Solution
APPLE INC.
Apple Inc. is a famous technology company of America which is headquartered in California. It was founded by Steve Jobs in 1976. It is into designing, developing and selling mobile communication; devices related to media, PC's, portable music players, etc. it also sells smart phones, tablets, computer software, online services, etc. It has added some online services too like iTunes, iOS, iCloud. Apple is the largest IT Company regarding revenue, and it also has the highest number of assets.
Organizational structure of Apple
Its structure is such that allows the company continuously innovate and foster creativity. It works on three structures- spoke and wheel hierarchy, function based grouping and product based cluster.
Apple’s market
The unique feature about this company is that it does not serve or caters markets. Instead, it serves people. It creates products based on what people demand and what uniqueness they look for in the products. Usually, it has targeted youth because the students who are getting educated are the ones who are using the iPods most. The business community also uses its product to a great extent because of the unique features it provides.
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SWOT analysis of Apple concerning innovation strategy
Strengths:
1. Popular brand image
2. Effective innovation strategies which are successful too
3. Huge revenues
Weakness:
1. Distribution network is limited
2. The selling price of this is more than the competitors
3. The sales are mainly targeted to high-end markets
Opportunities:
1. It can extend its distribution network in a great manner
2. It can create new product lines
3. The demand for its smartphones and tabs are rising to a great extent
Challenges/threats:
1. Completion is immense from players like Samsung which also innovates rapidly
2. Firms try to imitate Apple’s products
3. The labor costs are more as compared to others
Strengths:
The company can introduce many new products because it has a strong brand image. Since the pricing is a premium so, it can sell its products at a higher profit margins. The company follows intensive growth strategies which foster its rapid innovation. These have helped Apple to become the leader of the market.
Weaknesses:
This company believes in exclusivity, so it has a limited network of distribution. The authorized sellers of Apple are selected very carefully by the company. Although the thought is good, it has limited the reach of Apple in the market. Since it follows pr
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It can easily expand its distribution network in the market but for this, it needs to change its distribution strategy. If it expands this, it can reach too many other non-targeted customers as well. By doing this, it can discover many new product lines. The innovation of Apple is known to all so it can easily take the risk of entering into new product lines.
Threats:
Company needs strong fundamentals to compete with firms like Samsung, who is also popular in innovating its products. There are a large number of firms present in this industry, and hence, there is also a threat of imitation of Apple's products. This can make the company's performance suffer a lot. In countries like China, the labor costs are very less which poses a threat to Apple’s products in terms of cost.
Challenges faced by Apple’s innovation team based on the above analysis
The above analysis shows that Apple has faced some challenges in the past, and they have not been completely vanished till now. The strengths that it has can help in fighting with the challenges. Since it a popular brand so it can use this popularity to expand its distribution network. Since Apple is good with the innovations so it can develop new product lines easily. Imitation is a major challenge faced by the company, for this, it can create a stronger patent for its products which will give it a competitive advantage over others.
This can also be viewed from a change management perspective as the company face challenges that can be easily countered by the strengths and opportunities present in the environment.
Cultural barriers and Barriers to innovation:
Innovation can transform industries, and it can help the firms to adjust to the rapidly changing market conditions. If a company is able to adjust to the innovation, it can act as a creator for a unique position for itself or a destroyer for other firms. With more and more fragmentation and completion from foreign players, innovation has become the need of the hour. If a firm is not keeping up with the shifts in market, it cannot grow or develop. But innovation brings with itself a lot of uncertainty because how will people react to the change cannot be ascertained every time. Therefore for a manger, it is very important that he must introduce the change in the form of innovation in a very effective manner.
Change is a gradual process, and it requires time and patience to happen. Also, it can be successful only if it is happening at every level of all the people changing with it. Change can happen either ways-up or down, but it is most beneficial if it is happening horizontally. Change is usually seen as a negative process, and it is resisted by employees, but if proper interventions are put in place, then it can be a smooth process. In organizations, innovation can’t be talked about without change. If a company wants to innovate successfully, it needs to be good at managing change.
It is true that with more complexities either in the external or internal environment, managing change and innovation becomes more and more difficult. But this provides both opportunity as well as create a problem for the companies. If the mangers want to stay ahead of their competitors, then they should innovate no matter what the challenges are. The company should introduce people-centered changes so that it is easily adopted by the employees because the employees are the ones who resist the change the most. Also, people should also be involved when mangers take important decisions regarding change and innovation because in this way they feel associated with the changes and hence resist less.
Change is a continuous process, and it should be introduced at all levels, with all people getting involved in it. Success comes to those mangers who see change as a continuous process and continue it throughout the day. But don't freeze what you have introduced, first test the changes introduced and then see if it needs to be altered. This is also the theme of strategic innovation which says that the mangers should try, change and learn from the mistakes. The changes and the creativity should be linked to the strategy of the organization; the entire company should move along the same line. If some innovation is introduced in the research department, then it should be extended to entire organization in a proper way.
In creativity and innovation sharing ideas is very important. If the company and the mangers can open up the channels of communication, then many new ideas come up, and these can be considered while introducing changes.
References:
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Eppink, D. (1995). Strategic innovation. Strat. Change, 4(3), 155-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsc.4240040305
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Capello, R. (2013). Knowledge, Innovation, and Regional Performance: Toward Smart Innovation Policies. Growth And Change, 44(2), 185-194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/grow.12006
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Barge-Gil, A. (2013). Open Strategies and Innovation Performance. Industry & Innovation, 20(7), 585-610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2013.849455
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Weitzel, U. Growth and Innovation Strategies in Global Competition. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.818924
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Faure, E. (1972). Strategies for innovation. Prospects, 2(1), 7-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02195647
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Big progress on the big apple's rigorous proving ground. (1999). World Pumps, 1999(396), 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0262-1762(99)90737-x
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Four-Closure: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook & Google Are Driving Business Model Innovation. (2012). CBR, 11(11). http://dx.doi.org/10.17265/1537-1506/2012.11.004
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Reder, M. (2009). Case Study of Apple, Inc. for Business Law Students: How Apple's Business Model Controls Digital Content Through Legal and Technological Means. Journal Of Legal Studies Education, 26(1), 185-209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1722.2009.00064.x
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Google & Apple’s Gale of Creative Destruction. (2012). China-USA Business Review, 11(11). http://dx.doi.org/10.17265/1537-1514/2012.11.006
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Gardner, H. (1988). Creativity: An interdisciplinary perspective. Creativity Research Journal, 1(1), 8-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10400418809534284
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Innovation reading list. (2006). Strategy & Leadership, 34(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/sl.2006.26134dae.003
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Niemczyk, J. (2011). A Strategy as an Innovation - A New Strategy Concept. Organization And Management, 2011(5 (148). http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/v10166-011-0007-1
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