A presentation by my coursemates at Harvard!

1. New
Technology and
Competitive
Advantage
Bilen Akuzum
Mehmet Eren Kucukcolak
Melani Saritas
Omercan Yavuzer

3. Where / How does
innovation happen?

4. Steven Berlin Johnson
• Born 1968
• Brown University – Semiotics
• Editor in NY Times, Wall street J.
• Author of 8 books
• Where good ideas come from?

5. Where good ideas come
from?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU

6. Where good ideas come
from?
• The Slow Hunch Model
o Slow and Gradual Innovation
• Incubation period
• Chance favors the connected mind

7. Where good ideas come
from?
• The story behind GPS
• Darwin’s slow hunch
• Baby incubator for Africa

8. Why Innovation?
«Those that can adapt their strategic vision to the new
competitive realities and develop new capabilities
may emerge more vigorous, more competitive than
before.»

9. Types of Innovation
• Innovation Transilience: An innovation’s capacity to
transform existing systems of technology and marketing.
Four different type of innovations
 Architectural
 Regular
 Revulationary
 Niche Creation

11. Architectural
• Radical techonology applied to new markets

12. Revulationary
• Distributive change in technology applied to
existing markets and customers.

13. Niche Creation
Refinements in technology applied to new customer
groups and new applications

14. Regular
• Refinements in technology applied to existing
markets and customers
• http://www.xerox.com/about-xerox/videos/fast_food_video/enus.html
Radical Technology
Refinements in Tech.
To New Market
To New Customers & Apps.
To Existing Market
To Existing Customers & Apps.

15. Characteristics of
Innovation Types

16. Uncertainty / Risk
High level of
uncertainty
(technical options-
customers choice-
market definition-
competitors)
Low level of
uncertainity
(technical-
market)
Significant uncertainty
about customers
choice,
Some implementation
risks
High level of
technical
uncertainty,
Low level of
market
uncertainty

17. Source of Value
New technical
evolution, redifining
industry
Improving
competition(cost,
quality),
Internal
improvement
Product development
and further
segmentation
New technical
evolution

18. Supporting Investments
Equipment
development
Training,
maintenance
system changes
Applications
Engineering
Equipment
development,
Knowledge of
organization, pr
ocedures

19. Competitive Context
New market and
technical, configuration;
may be basis for entry
Implementation,
nuances in
engineering and
sales
Skill in marketing,
Temporary monopoly
within new segment
Rewriting rules

20. Managerial Skills
Assimilate new ideas,
adapt to change
Careful planning,
problem solving
within known
constraints
Spot emerging
customer demands
Leadership in
breaking
industry
conventions

21. Investment Analysis
• Simple DCF is useful for regular innovation
• No well defined cash flows in niche creation or
architectural innovation
• In complex cases, simple quantitative methods may
be misleading
• Particular methods should be tailored
• «In decisions about the firm’s strategic path, there is
no substitute for managerial judgment»

22. Prompter
• Hubert Schlafly
o Inventor of the first teleprompter
o Developed cable systems

23. First Prompter
• 1948, for Television
• 1950, Soap Opera
• 1952, President Herpert Hoover
• Mounted inside what looked like a
suitcase and controlled by a
stagehand.

24. Breakthrough
• In 1952, when people realized that president
used prompter.

25. Refinements
• A podium with concealed prompting devices, plumbing for
drinking water and a platform to lift or lower a speaker.
• Later replaced the suitcase-like unit with glass panels and
eventually superimposed words in front of cameras.