Innovation Networks: New Insights, Open
Questions and Management Fashions
(available August 15)
Innovation networks are being lauded
for giving firms the ability to reach outside
their walls to find new sources of innovation,
and access the development capability of
others. Best practice studies and rigorous
academic research are yielding new insights into
how these networks should be managed, and when
they are most effective. This report
is based on an insight-building conference hosted by
Profs. Harbir Singh and George Day. (2009)
Managing and Measuring Innovation (available)
What are
the metrics of innovation? How does a best
practice firm combine management objectives with
innovation metrics, to achieve the best results
from technological innovation? This report
is based on an insight-building conference hosted by
Profs. George Day and David Reibstein. (2009)
Winners and Losers in
Green Technologies (available)
A few
companies such as GE have already become first
movers in green technologies, while others are
becoming fast followers, and most are still in
"wait and see" mode. Firms that
participate in this market will be faced with
some interesting and tough decisions, so this
timely report - based on a conference held in
mid-2008 - offers some important insights for
decision makers, including lessons from over a
decade of research in emerging technologies, at
the Mack Center. Based on a Wharton Impact
Conference designed and hosted by the Mack
Center. (2009)
The Future of the U.S.
Energy Grid (interim report)
The U.S.
Energy Grid faces a variety of challenges that
will force some radical changes...or not.
The Mack Center and Decision Strategies
International conducted an intensive workshop in
October 2009 that helped provide insights that
DSI's scenario experts crafted into a set of
scenarios that describe several different
futures for the next generation of the U.S.
energy grid. This interim report
summarizes some of the scenarios and findings,
that will be published in a final report that
will be available from DSI in February or March
2009.
The Future of
BioSciences: Four Scenarios for 2020 and Their
Implications for Human Healthcare
This 130 page research report, edited by Profs.
Paul J. H. Schoemaker and Michael Tomczyk,
describes the factors expected to impact
commercialization of emerging bioscience
technologies from now until 2020. It
includes four scenarios based on technology
success/failure and public acceptance/rejection
of these technologies, and the consequences for
various stakeholder groups. These
"meta-scenarios" provide an excellent basis for
developing micro-scenarios for specific firms
and industries. The Future of BioSciences
project is an ongoing long-term project of the
Mack Center, in collaboration with Decision
Strategies International. Copies can be
purchased from DSI at:
http://www.thinkdsi.com/biosciences.
(2006)
Innovation and
Organic Growth: Balancing Risk and Reward
(Click here to read sample report)
To innovate is to take risks. The rewards
are gained by seeing and seizing potential
opportunities ahead of rivals, while protecting
against undesirable outcomes. Success
requires strategic, organizational and financial
acumen and a willingness to embrace uncertainty.
This report examines the latest thinking on
these challenges, including how best practice
firms balance risk and reward in their portfolio
of growth initiatives - from strategic,
organizational and venture capital perspectives.
From an insight-building event
organized by Profs. George
Day and Paul Schoemaker. (2006)
Creating and Managing
Networks of Innovation
Rapid economic change and resource scarcity has
motivated decision makers to seek creative ways
to access resources of other organizations, to
create and sustain value. One of these
strategies involves creating or accessing
networks of innovation that enable firms to draw
on resources far beyond their immediate
boundaries. Examples of these networks
range from global business ecosystems in the
automotive and software industries, to
outsourcing and offshoring of business processes
in India and other countries, to open source
software communities..
This event was organized
by Profs. Harbir Singh and Lori Rosenkopf.
(2006)
Using Technology to Improve Decision-Making:
Pitfalls and Prospects
Emerging
technologies are not only transforming the way
we do business, but are also influencing and
aiding the way we make decisions. In an
era of unprecedented globalization and rapidly
changing business models, new approaches are
needed to compete, survive and succeed in
technology driven industries. Many of
these changes are requiring organizations to
adopt new decision frameworks and strategies.
This research
report summarizes presentations from a Wharton
Impact Conference sponsored by the Mack Center;
designed and hosted by Profs. George Day and
Paul J.H. Schoemaker. (2005).
Globalization
and Emerging Technologies
Advances in information and communication
technologies have greatly contributed to
cultural, economic and political globalization
over the past few decades. Globalization
in turn has helped spawn numerous new
technologies from far corners of the earth,
aided by global alliances in the private and
public sectors. This report summarizes
insights from a Wharton Impact Conference
exploring the complex interplay between
globalization and new technology development,
from the perspective of senior management.
This event was organized by Profs. Harbir Singh
and Paul Schoemaker. (2005)
Investing in Emerging Technologies: Strategies
for Making Technology Investments Under
Conditions of High Risk and Uncertainty
The landscape for technology investment has
changed in many industries: life sciences,
pharmaceuticals, information technology,
financial services, transportation,
entertainment, telecom, consumer products...to
name a few. Firms, government agencies and
venture capitalists are using a variety of
innovative strategies and frameworks to address
the uncertainties presented by today's
increasingly challenging investment environment.
This report presents insights by Wharton faculty
and "better practice" firms such as DuPont, Eli
Lilly, Reliance Industries (India) and the World
Bank. Included is a discussion of "real
options" strategy. From a conference
organized by Profs. Harbir Singh and George Day.
Creating
Competitive Capabilities
in Knowledge Intensive Environments
Organizations in all industries need to
constantly improve their ability to leverage
knowledge for competitive advantage, especially
in the current economic environment. As
Internet use and global communications become
ubiquitous and IT capabilities increase by
orders of magnitude, competition has become more
complex and challenging for senior decision
makers in "knowledge-intensive" industries.
This report offers insights from our ongoing
research at the Mack center as well as lessons
from firms such as Charles Schwab, Infosys and
Unisys. (2003)
Managing
Knowledge Assets: Changing Rules
and Emerging
Strategies for Intellectual Property
Knowledge may be the most important source of
competitive advantage for a firm, but capturing
the potential gains is a continuing challenge.
The patent system is under enormous strain.
Firms are filing patents are an unprecedented
rate. Emerging technologies and business
processes that were previously unpatentable are
now protected. Development cycles are
accelerating, lead times shrinking.
Administrative and legal burdens are increasing.
These changes are creating a new and unfamiliar
context for the management of intellectual
property...forcing many firms to rethink their
strategies for realizing the rewards of
innovation. The report summarizes
presentations at a 2002 conference organized by
Wharton Professor Sid Winter. Many of the
leading edge insights presented at this event
have been manifested as intellectual property
issues have become increasingly important in the
years since this ground-breaking event was
hosted by the Mack Center.
BOOKS
by Mack Center Faculty & Staff
The Mack Center for
Technological Innovation is one of 23 research
centers of the Wharton School, at the University
of Pennsylvania. Our offices are located
in Room 1050 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall, 3620
Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6371.
Tel: 215-573-7722 - Email:
mackcenter@wharton.upenn.edu
Copyright (c) 2009 by the Mack
Center for Technological Innovation. All
rights reserved.
