Innovation Management – Merging each concept into one

The complexity of this research topic has brought to the forefront the opportunities for future research as well as implications for the future. When thinking of future and innovation one cannot separate the topic of sustainability, protection of the environment, and natural resources. This is an aspect of innovation management that I came across in the research for my Manuscript. It is imperative that innovation management and all associated with it to take responsibility and understand the impact to environment and natural resources. This is part of the ethical responsibility, consumer responsibility, and corporate responsibility that must be presented when tackling this complex topic of innovation. These responsibilities lay at the feet of corporations both large and small as well as at the feet of the consumers. We are all accountable in one form or the other.

In the pharmaceutical biotech industry, the entity that gets to market first ensures a larger market share and can keep that market share due to Intellectual Property Protection. The dynamic capability of the leader and organization are critical but are not the only elements in the organization that needs to be nurtured and supported for innovation management to succeed.

Implications

The value of both radical and incremental innovation also known as ambidextrous innovation was borne out in the research data. However, this requires a balancing act by managers to know when to exploit or explore. Therefore, managers must be sensitive to radical innovation or incremental innovation needs of teams. A question that seems quite logical is, how does one successfully do this simultaneously and still perform and deliver at a high rate in the innovation space? It may simply lie in the fact that it may be necessary to have separate teams to ensure success at innovation. For some organizations it may not be that simple in the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry. Many organizations are trying to operate “lean machines” hence when the suggestion for creating yet another team is presented many will cringe at the very thought.

The research clearly shows that investment into several areas will pay back huge dividends. One of the areas to invest in is learning. Many organizations and managers are not buying into the notion that investing in their workforce reaps big dividends. The data shows that for $1 invested it comes back 4-fold because that learning promotes the opportunity to look at current innovative products or services. Teams must be given autonomy to fail to succeed at innovation. If failure is not built into the business strategy, then the organization should not be involved in innovation management.

The management of knowledge including the subsets of tacit knowledge and learning must be nurtured and supported during transactional relationships between organizations. Since tacit knowledge cannot be written down it will take creativity to get this knowledge codified and successfully transmitted across organizations particularly in open innovation spaces in the pharma biotech industry. On the other hand, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer must be managed in a systematic way to retain authenticity of information. Data integrity is at the forefront of the knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer to ensure remaining compliant with regulatory requirements, it is the bigger challenge in the pharma biotech industry. Therefore, the question that looms large ahead is, how does one remain compliant yet pursue innovation at a rapid pace particularly in the disruptive innovation and radical innovation environments of the pharma biotech industry?

Opportunities for future study comes in several different forms:

• Conducting a longitudinal study in the pharmaceutical biotech industry of ambidextrous teams looking at the effects of dynamic capability

• A study of other high technology industries may yield a different result.

• The depth and magnitude of dynamic capability were not measured.

• The study focused on only one industry because of the timeline allowed for the research to be conducted. Adding other high technology companies to the research discussion will add another layer of complexity to any subsequent future study.

Reflections

Nearing the end of this blog journey, I can appreciate the magnitude of my research efforts in a short time. This journey has allowed me to reflect on the value of this research and what is to come for the future. I am humbled by the opportunity to share my journey with my various networks, people whom I will meet soon (either at conferences or speaking engagements) and others who are just genuinely excited and interested in supporting someone on their doctoral journey.

This is not the end of my blogging on this topic. I will be submitting my Manuscript for publication in the first week of December. I will keep you posted on developments in that area. I will also begin to write my Dissertation shortly and will continue to blog on my area of research as well as other relevant topics. My Dissertation is the capstone to my doctoral degree and will be a year long journey. See you around the block!