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Summary of the Article
The article entitled “What’s Your Best Innovation Bet?” by Melissa Schilling explains how companies can predict future trends of technology based on the evolutionary process. The invention of technology is a challenging venture because it requires consideration of key trends and dimensions of technology and alignment with the future needs of customers. Since technology is dynamic, innovations ought to be versatile and in tandem with the technological tide, which improves and becomes competitive with time. Inaccurate prediction or lack of prediction is costly because innovations become outdated and exit the market before generating substantial earnings. For example, in the music industry, the evolution of compact disk and music formats changed the use of CD, DVD, and MP3 players. Therefore, the article holds that the understanding of the evolutionary process of technology and the dynamic needs of customers is critical in designing innovations that would become relevant for a considerable time.
The article describes a three-step process of designing and refining innovations to meet future needs of customers. The first step entails identification of key dimensions of innovations that drive the progress of technology in a certain field. According to the article, “selecting useful technology to examine depends on industry knowledge and common sense (Schilling 4). The knowledge of the industry identifies key dimensions, whereas common sense aids in designing innovations. The second step involves the location of the dimension in the utility curve. Since products have a utility pattern, which elucidates the trends of their use in the markets, companies ought to locate the position of their innovation in the utility curve. The utility of some products increases exponentially then levels off or increases gradually, then exponentially, and levels off, or remains constant throughout a given period. In the third step, a company should focus on dimensions with a significant utility. The focus would enable companies to identify their target market and create competitive products.
Critical Evaluation of the Article
The analysis of article shows that it presents the problem of the study clearly. According to Schilling, the creation of innovations is challenging because it requires accurate prediction of unforeseeable market trends and future utility (4). Essentially, the article recognizes the dynamic nature of markets and changing consumer needs, which requires accurate prediction to enhance the utility of products for a long duration. Moreover, the analysis of the article shows that it asked the right question regarding the nature of innovation that would meet the future state of technology and consumer needs. In the title, the article asks that:- “What’s your best innovation bet?” (Schilling 2). The article fits well with previous studies because it elucidates factors and processes that organizations ought to consider. However, the article did not consider the role of marketing the adoption and application of innovations. Current studies emphasize that marketing plays a central role in overcoming barriers and promoting the adoption of innovations (Gupta et al. 5678; Kharchuk et al. 52). Thus, consideration of marketing is integral in understanding dimensions of technology and trends of customer needs.
The study employed case study methodology, which matched well with the problem of predicting technology trends and consumer needs. Case study methodology is appropriate because it provides empirical data with high internal and external validities for they reflect the reality of innovations in various industries. In the analysis of case studies of Sony, Philips, and innovative products in the technology dimensions, such as glucose monitoring, sports television, financial data, and academic publishing, the article demonstrated the application of the three steps in the conception of promising products (Schilling 8). Evidently, the analysis of these promising products shows that their respective companies identified technology dimensions, focused on optimal dimensions, and created innovative products.
The review of the findings indicates that the article reported its findings in a consistent and clear format. The article arranged its findings according to the three steps of creative innovations that meet future trends of technology and consumer needs. Each of the steps had its findings demonstrated from case studies. Ultimately, at the last step, the article focused on selected promising innovations in the technology areas of glucose monitoring, sports television, financial data, and academic publishing, which met the right technology dimension, appropriate location in the utility curve, and focused on key concepts of products. The article did not overlook important data for it presented cases to demonstrate the practicability of the three steps in identifying innovations, locating their positions in the utility curve, and focusing on lucrative dimensions. Although the article presented valid and reliable findings, it did not acknowledge and explain the existence of limitations. Overall, the article presented findings logically for the data came from reputable case studies. Moreover, the data and findings are convincing for there are no notable fallacies that the article presented.
My Opinion
I agree with the findings of research that organizations ought to predict trends of innovations and dynamic needs of customers while creating and designing innovations. Critical analysis of innovations shows that companies that do not consider future trends and dynamics of technology and consumers experience huge losses as their products do not last in the market. A significant factor in the article is the use of case studies in elucidating and demonstrating the essence identifying technology dimensions, locating their positions in the utility curve, and focusing on lucrative dimensions. The cases of Sony and Philips in designing and creating music equipment formed the basis of the study. The identification of the major dimensions of technology, namely, speed, reliability, durability, comfort, versatility, fidelity, portability, convenience, usability, efficiency, and cost, is key in creating and designing innovations that meet future needs.
The Contribution of the Article
The article provides a significant contribution to knowledge because it indicates factors that determine the utility of inventions, which are the trend of technology and consumer needs. In this view, the article recommends organizations to consider trends in technology and consumer needs while designing and creating their innovations. Given that companies incur losses when they create innovations that do not last in the market, this article offers practical steps of ensuring that innovations remain relevant and generate maximum utility. Since the three steps suggested by the article are practicable, they would enable organizations to identify technology dimensions, locate their position in the utility curve, and focus on key dimensions.
Suggestions to Improve Research
To improve the internal and external validity of the findings, this research needs to include modern innovations as case studies. Moreover, since the focus on innovation alone does not guarantee a product to meet future needs, this research should consider the role of marketing. As demonstrated by other studies, marketing determines the adoption and use of innovative products(Gupta et al. 5678; Kharchuk et al. 52). Thus, the inclusion of modern case studies and the role of marketing would significantly improve the validity and reliability of the findings.
Works Cited
Gupta, Suraksha, et al. “Marketing Innovation: A Consequence of Competitiveness.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 69, no. 12, 2016, pp. 5671–5681.
Kharchuk, Viktoria, et al. “The Analyses of Marketing Strategies for Innovations.” ECONTECHMOD. An International Quarterly Journal on Economics of Technology and Modelling Processes, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014, pp.49-54.
Schilling, Melissa A. “What’s Your Best Innovation Bet?” Harvard Business Review, vol. 95, no. 4, 2017, pp. 1–9.
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