Senja Svahn: Innovation networks @ TEDx AaltoUniversityOnTracks

Innovation networks –How to actively facilitate innovations?

Senja Svahn

TedX @ Trans-Siperian train 16.5.2010

Outline

- Drivers of networks- Innovation categories- Innovation networks

- Main characteristics- Emergence

- Environment- Phases

- Conclutions

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12.04.2023

Why networks?

• Increasing externalization of value activities• Dependence on partners• Different forms of collaboration (from carindustry to R&D)• Increasing globalization (competition)• Benefits• Information overflow (dispersed knowledge, Internet)• Technological complexity

=> Major innovations not alone

Knowledge based innovations

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Characteristics of Innovations & Environment

Innovation Types (Freeman & Perez, 1988)

• Incremental innovations• Radical – dicontinuous

innovations• Technological systems• Techno-Economics paradigms

Systemity of Innovation • Number of capabilities required• Level of compatibility with

existing infrastructure

Single ClustersScale

Sco

pe

Incr

em R

adic

al

Characteristics of innovative networks

• By exploring how actors influence and organize new business fields

• Characterized by searching for innovations and new business opportunities

• Creating new technologies or even technological paradigms

• Characterized by uncertainty and radical changes in the field

• This uncertainty creates business opportunities for those who are able to make sense and “structurize” the field

MANY CAPABILITIES

FEW CAPABILITIES

HIGH COMPATIBILITYWITH USER SYSTEMS

NEW SYSTEMS/INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED

DIGITAL CAMERA

COPIER

SONY WALKMAN

FAX

BLUETOOTH-COALITION

MULTI-MEDIA HOMEENTERTAINMENT

COMPACTDISC

MANY CAPABILITIES

FEW CAPABILITIES

HIGH COMPATIBILITYWITH USER SYSTEMS

NEW SYSTEMS/INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED

DIGITAL CAMERA

COPIER

SONY WALKMAN

FAX

BLUETOOTH-COALITION

MULTI-MEDIA HOMEENTERTAINMENT

COMPACTDISC

(Adapted from Normann 1995)

Systemic Innovation Space

Complexity Novelty Embeddedness Dynamics

• Types of resources

• Types of capabilities

• Types of actors

• Share of new resources and capabilities

• Uniqueness in relation to existing alternatives

• Level of connectedness

• Number of nets

• Pace of change

• Number of activities

”Environmental” characteristics

Landscape of Emergent Business Networks (1/2)

* Complexity - Types of resources - Types of capabilities - Types of actors

* Novelty - Share of new resources

and capabilities - Uniqueness in relation to

existing alternatives

* Embeddednes - Level of

connectedness - Number of nets

* Dynamics - Pace of change - Number of

activities

Environment characteristics

Mobilization for Applications

Mobilization for Dissemination

From Exploration to Focus Identification

Design and Application Competition

Competition for Production and Distribution

Exploring for Future Business

* Complexity - Types of resource - Types of capability - Types of actor

* Novelty - Share of new resources

and capabilities - Uniqueness in relation to

existing alternatives

* Embeddednes - Level of

connectedness - Number of nets

* Dynamics - Pace of change - Number of

activities

Environment characteristics







Landscape of Emergent Business Networks (2/2)














From Exploration to Focus Identification 1

Sense making Recognizing ideas

Making sense of ideas

Influenced by Actor’s network position ”exposure”

Actor’s network theory

”absoptive capacity”

Pool of Ideas – Variety

Exploration














From Exploration to Focus Identification 2

Selecting & Focusing Capability to select ideas for focussed development

Influenced by Degree of embeddedness & uncertainty of idea(s) Corporate level knowledge integration mechanisms Justification of new ideas/focus --- culture

Sense making & Selecting & Focusing

A Framing – Reframing Capability















Net Mobilization:• Actor identification Capabilities, positions & roles• Agenda setting Develop an attractive and credible

vision

Influenced by:• Visioning capability attractiveness & credibility• Cooperative capability architecture















Building of competitive Demand-Supply Nets

• Net management capability• Net business models – roles, responsibilities, value• Organisational solutions – role coordination – IT/KM –infrastructure• Knowledge codification & task coordination & integration

Wireless services innovations at bullet trains – ICT System Implementation

Case Bullettrain

Professor Senja SvahnTeta-1010 Teollisuustalouden perusteet

Analysis of requirements

• Identifying facts: knowledge & competences• How to identify what knowledge you must have?• What knowledge is missing?• Missing factors:

• How to deal with non-existing knowledge• Is it possible to produce?• When to produce new infrastructure/technology

• How to facilitate knowledge creation?• How to integrate knowledge into innovation? • Learning & absorptive capacity

Conclutions

• Emergence can be characterized in interrelated phases

• Goal-directed actor behavior and serendipity

• Actor’s learning orientation and absorptive capacity while creating future

• Actors with advanced capabilities can influence their own destinies and influence into the development of emergence

Thank you for your attention!

Be innovative,

Drive the way to the

future!

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TETA – 5320 Senja Svahn, PhD. 12.04.2023

Education

Senja Svahn: Innovation networks @ TEDx AaltoUniversityOnTracks