MBADM850: Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Lesson 1 Introduction

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Welcome to the MBADM 850 class, where we embark on an journey to explore innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. This course is designed for learners who are eager to delve into the intricacies of these vital concepts and apply them effectively in various organizational contexts, including business startups, corporations, and public sector institutions

Lesson Objectives

After successfully completing this module, students will be able to:

• Identify and recall the purpose and meaning of key terms associated with innovation, such as creativity, entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship.
• Compare and contrast the different types, and building blocks of, innovation.
• Explore the role of creativity in organizations and find ways of making it a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Apply the principles of organizational creativity by assessing organizational creativity and identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Module Topics

• Introduction to innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship
• Strategy and innovation
• What is entrepreneurship
• Types of innovation
• The essential elements of corporate creativity
• Assessing organizational creativity

Key Terms

Innovation and entrepreneurship are dynamic, overlapping fields with a rich vocabulary. Here are seven key terms that are essential to understanding the material in this course.

• Innovation: This is the process of creating new ideas, products, or methods, and implementing them in a way that generates value. Innovation often involves improving existing systems, processes, or technologies, or developing entirely new ones to meet emerging needs or to solve complex problems.
• Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is the act of creating, organizing, and running a business venture, along with its associated risks, in order to make a profit. It often involves identifying market needs, marketing new products or services, and effectively commercializing them. It is also characterized by the monetization of various forms of innovation.
• Intrapreneurship: Intrapreneurship is the application of entrepreneurship and innovation principles and processes in a corporate context. Intrapreneurship is behaving like an entrepreneur in an organization, rather than in a startup situation.
• Disruptive Innovation: This term refers to an innovation that significantly alters or disrupts an existing market or industry, often by replacing old systems or habits with new, more efficient ones. Disruptive innovations can create new markets and value networks, eventually displacing established market-leading firms and products.
• Lean Startup: A methodology for developing businesses and products, which aims to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable. This is achieved through a process of "build-measure-learn" using minimal viable products (MVPs), emphasizing customer feedback, and incorporating iterative design.
• Business Model Innovation: This topic involves changing the way a company creates, delivers, and captures value. It's about rethinking a business's approach to its market, including its revenue model, value proposition, target customer segments, and cost structure. Business model innovation can lead to significant competitive advantages and market leadership.
• Creativity: In a business context, creativity refers to the ability of people, teams, and organizations to generate innovative ideas, solutions, and approaches that add value. It involves thinking outside the box, challenging conventional wisdom, and finding unique ways to solve problems, meet customer needs, and achieve business goals.

In this module, you will explore the meaning of innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and related terms, and their relationship to business strategy. Many different types of innovation will be highlighted, as will the many different enablers of creativity in corporations.

Readings and Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Course Schedule.

Enabling Business Strategy Through Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity are frequently viewed as overlapping and self-reinforcing concepts in the field of business. Students of innovation will benefit personally and professionally by exploring these domains in tandem, and understand the role each plays in promoting change, invention, experimentation, strategy implementation, and the maintenance and/or achievement of competitive advantage in business. Innovation is typically viewed as the set of activities that leads to the creation of better or more effective products, processes, policies, relationships, services, and beyond. To succeed, a specific innovation must address a perceived need, fulfill a desire, exploit an opportunity, fill a gap, improve something, solve a problem, or fill a niche, usually for a target audience or category of customers. In general, the goal of innovation is to create business value, solve problems, break down barriers, improve products, services, and situations, and help organizations adapt to an ever-changing environment. From a business strategy perspective, the keys to business success, supported by innovation, entrepreneurship, and innovation, usually boil down to the concepts of differentiation, competitive advantage, sustainable competitive advantage, and distinctive competencies. A quick scan of the following definitions highlights the important role innovation plays in ensuring a viable business strategy

• Differentiation: the ability of a company to set itself apart from rivals. (e.g., low-cost provider, diversification, focused strategy, narrow market niche, geographic scope of operations, etc.)
• Competitive advantage: the portfolio of resources, capabilities, and methods that gives a company competitive advantage. Competitive advantage allows a company to be profitable relative to its competitors. (e.g., ability to innovate)
• Sustainable competitive advantage: when buyers and customers prefer a company's products and services over rivals over the long term.
• Distinctive competencies: those skills, capabilities, areas of expertise, and resources that set a company apart from rivals to yield competitive advantage.

Creativity

Creativity plays a pivotal role in organizations, acting as a fundamental driver of innovation and entrepreneurship. Creativity's s impact can be understood in several key aspects:

Fostering Innovation

• Idea Generation: Creativity is the source of new ideas. It allows individuals and teams to think outside the box, challenge the status quo, and envision novel solutions to problems.
• Problem-Solving: Creative approaches to problem solving often lead to more effective and efficient solutions, especially for complex or unprecedented challenges.
• Product Development: In product design and development, creativity leads to unique features, improved functionality, and better user experiences.

Driving Entrepreneurship

• Opportunity Identification: Entrepreneurs with creative mindsets are better at identifying market gaps and unmet needs, which are opportunities for new business ventures.
• Resourcefulness: Creativity enables entrepreneurs to make the most of limited resources, finding innovative ways to reduce costs, maximize efficiency, and create value.
• Adaptability: In the ever-changing business landscape, creativity aids entrepreneurs in adapting their strategies and business models to evolving market conditions.

Enhancing Competitive Advantage

• Differentiation: Creativity helps organizations differentiate their products and services, making them stand out in crowded markets.
• Brand Image: Creative branding and marketing strategies can significantly enhance an organization's image and appeal to customers.

Cultivating a Positive Organizational Culture

• Employee Engagement: A creative work environment encourages employee engagement, as staff feel more motivated and valued when their ideas are heard and appreciated.
• Collaboration: Creativity often thrives in collaborative settings, fostering teamwork and the exchange of ideas.

Responding to and Driving Business Transformation

• Agility: Creative organizations are more agile, able to pivot quickly in response to changes in the market or disruptions in the industry.
• Continuous Improvement: A creative mindset encourages continuous learning and improvement, essential for long-term success.

Sustaining Growth

• Innovation Pipeline: Creativity ensures a steady flow of innovative ideas, crucial for the ongoing development of new products and services.
• Market Leadership: By continuously innovating, organizations can maintain or achieve market leadership.

In summary, creativity in organizations is not just about artistic endeavors; it's a strategic asset that drives innovation, fuels entrepreneurship, and fosters a competitive and adaptable business environment. It's essential for organizations seeking to thrive in today's fast-paced and ever-evolving global market.

The Application of Creativity

Applying the principles of organizational creativity involves a systematic approach to assess and enhance the creative capabilities of an organization. This process can be broken down into several steps and recommendations, such as:

Assessing the Current Creative Climate

• Surveys and Feedback: Use surveys or feedback tools to gauge employees' perceptions of the organization's creativity. Questions should focus on the freedom to innovate, encouragement of new ideas, and support for risk-taking.
• Idea Generation Metrics: Track the number and quality of new ideas generated within a certain period. This can include new product ideas, process improvements, or innovative solutions to problems.
• Innovation Audit: Conduct an audit of past and current projects to evaluate the level of innovation. Look at the diversity, novelty, and impact of these projects.

Identifying Creative Strengths

• Supportive Leadership: Leaders who encourage and participate in creative processes.
• Collaborative Culture: A culture that promotes sharing of ideas and collaborative efforts across departments.
• Resource Availability: Adequate resources, including time, budget, and tools, dedicated to innovation and creative endeavors.
• Recognition and Rewards: Systems in place to recognize and reward creative contributions and innovative solutions.

Identifying Organization Weaknesses that Inhibit Innovation

• Risk Aversion: A culture that penalizes failure, which can stifle creativity and discourage risk-taking.
• Silos and Communication Barriers: Departments or teams working in isolation, hindering the cross-pollination of ideas.
• Lack of Diversity: Homogeneous teams can lead to a narrow range of ideas and perspectives.
• Overemphasis on Efficiency: Focusing too much on efficiency can limit time and resources available for creative thinking and experimentation.

Developing Strategies to Enhance Creativity

• Training and Development: Implement training programs focused on creative thinking, problem-solving, and innovation management.
• Cross-functional Teams: Encourage the formation of cross-functional teams to bring diverse perspectives and expertise.
• Idea Management Systems: Establish systems to capture, evaluate, and implement ideas from all levels of the organization.
• Fostering an Open Culture: Create an environment where failure is seen as a learning opportunity, and employees feel safe to express novel ideas.

Implementing Changes and Monitoring Progress

• Action Plans: Develop and implement action plans based on the identified strengths and weaknesses.
• Regular Reviews: Regularly review the progress of initiatives aimed at enhancing creativity.
• Feedback Loops: Establish feedback loops to continuously gather insights from employees about the creative climate.

Continuous Improvement

• Iterative Process: Treat the enhancement of organizational creativity as an ongoing, iterative process.
• Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt strategies in response to internal and external changes.

By systematically assessing and addressing the factors that impact organizational creativity, a company can foster an environment where innovation thrives, thereby enhancing its competitive edge and capacity for growth.

Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Lesson 1 Activities

Lesson 1 Discussion: Defining Key Terms

This is a whole-class discussion, and you will be graded on your initial post as well as your two responses. 

Be sure to review the materials associated with this module.

Initial Post

To earn full credit, you must complete parts A and B for your initial post by 11:59 p.m. (ET) Thursday.

Part A: Less than 100 words

• Choose any two of the following terms:
  • Innovation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Intrapreneurship
  • Invention
  • Creativity
• In less than 100 words, briefly define your chosen words and explain how they are similar and/or different.

Part B: 300 words

• Describe two types of innovation you have had experience with as a working professional. Provide supporting details. Share some of the lessons you learned, both positive and negative.
• Explain two types of innovation that you most want to explore and learn more about as a working professional. Explain why do these types of innovation most intrigue you?

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Response Posts

To earn full credit, you need to engage with a minimum of two other students' posts by 11:509 p.m (ET) Sunday.

As you comment on other students' posts:

• Relate an insight or lesson learned from your own experience that pertains to their scenarios.
• Your replies should add value to the conversation by adding insight, drawing parallels, asking questions, or otherwise sharing what you learned from your peers' posts. Simply agreeing with prior posts is not enough.
• Note: You do not have to include formal citations if referencing course-provided materials, but citations should be included if you draw on outside materials.

Points will be earned based on the Discussion Assignment Grading Rubric. Please select the ⋮ icon in the upper right, and then select Show Rubric to see the full grading details and expectations. Be sure to review the rubric prior to participating in the discussion.