Innovation is the key to firm competitiveness and growth yet studying innovation is much like the ancient parable about a group of blind men each touching a different part of an elephant. This book is a fresh new approach to understanding innovation – market linkages using one unified framework.
The book examines an integrated innovation environment. Four market archetypes as well as the market outcome for each archetype are described. Innovation dynamics including commoditization, the constant innovation challenge and the sustainability of innovation are analyzed along with cases including the iPod, Lego, Barbie, the browser wars and Google. A diagnostic matrix is presented which enables one to take a ´snapshot´ of a product in the innovation environment. This book is an invaluable tool for the academic, the manager and the consultant to understand ‘where’ a firm is located in an innovation environment, `why’ it is so located and provides valuable clues as to ‘what’ to do when designing strategy.