Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract
Whereas incremental innovation (II) involves minor changes to an existing product or service, radical innovation (RI) creates a new user experience by altering the cognitive ecosystem of products and creating new markets. Recent RI products such as Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iTunes and Amazon's Kindle have demonstrated the potentially salubrious effect of RI. However, technological uncertainty, business inexperience, and unknown customer preferences render RI a high-risk proposition. Accordingly, the innovation processes of RI and II are different: whereas II is widely studied through gate and structured process models, comparatively little is known about how to engage and manage RI. One reason for this is that conceptualizations of RI do not adequately reflect critical interdependencies in the CE/IT ecosystem that permit identification or RI opportunities. To analyze RI processes and how they recognize interdependencies within the CE/IT ecosystem, we conducted semistructured interviews with 38 highly experienced designers and innovation managers. Using grounded theory to analyze the interviews, we propose a new conceptualization of RI that suggests that RI emerges from novel interactions between technology, application, and market trends. To illustrate these interactions, we formulate a Technology, Application, and Market Trend (TAMT) model that illustrates the novel dynamics of RI and highlights differences between RI and II. Using the model, we note that unarticulated market needs are the key source of most RIs. Radical innovators must constantly search for unarticulated market needs through experimentation and bold thinking to identify RI opportunities and engage in it successfully.
Keywords
radical innovation, technology, application, market expectation, CMOS image sensor, market trend
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Chuang, Shengfa Johnson, "Realizing Breakthrough Radical Innovations In CE/IT Industries" (2012). Student Scholarship. 349.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/349