Design thinking in responding to disruptive innovation: A case study

How can the design thinking approach assist firms in developing response strategies to momentum-gaining disruptive innovations, along the lines of effectively exploiting established technologies and corresponding products/services? Such exploitative response strategies, implying successfully strengthening and leveraging the disrupted firm’s existing technology without embracing the disruptive elements, have been, to a large extent, overlooked in the disruptive innovations literature. Using an inductive analysis of a critical case (a major cork stopper producer), the current study aims at developing a systematic understanding of exploitative strategic options and the role of design thinking in enabling them. The findings shed light on the effectiveness of the design thinking mindset to respond to disruptive innovations. In addition, we present evidence that a design thinking method can be successfully applied to process innovation. Finally, we demonstrate that to achieve a radical innovation based on design thinking principles, the establishment of design discourse is required

Implementing product platforms in the global enterprise : Lessons from an LED industry leader

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Business model innovation in incumbent firms ::a conceptual model of process, antecedents, and outcomes

Purpose: The business model innovation construct is gaining substantive attention in management literature, emphasizing its role for creating and sustaining a firm’s competitive advantage in rapidly changing business environments. However, little advancement has been made toward a holistic, theory-based understanding of the nature of business model innovation, along with its context-specific antecedents and outcomes. Design: Conceptual Paper. Combining the theoretical insights of the literature on organizational routines and ‘activity system’ perspectives on business models, we refine the conceptualization of a business model as a cluster of interrelated routines, with its internal change dynamics determining the process and scope of business model innovation. Findings: First, we refine the conceptualization of business model innovation through the lens of a dynamic cluster of routines. Second, we recognize the roles and relevance of the different components of a firm’s business model innovation, setting the stage for future research scrutinizing these components and their influence on strategic direction and consequent performance. Third, by identifying the conditions under which the components of BMI lead to a firm’s value creation and capture, we bring answers to questions such as “What leads to significant performance differences within an industry?” and “How do firms sustain such differences over time?” Originality / Value: We distinguish between potential and realized business model innovation processes, and derive theoretical propositions regarding external and internal environment, business model innovation, and value creation and value capture

Radical business model innovations ::distinguishing between product, process and model

This article exposes what the literature has to say about a specific type of radical innovation— business-model innovations. It argues that even though they share many similarities to what Ettlie et al. (1984) call radical innovations, they are still different phenomena: they create different kinds of markets, pose different challenges for established firms, and have different implications for managers. It is only when the topic of radical innovation is broken down into these finer categories that progress can be made