Author Archives: Mark Roser
This is the sixth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘How should firms collaborate with customers and/or value chain partners to co-create new products and services?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mark Roser With some apologies to Braden, I reconfigured this question to focus on the notion of “when” do you really need to collaborate & co-create to achieve new products or services? When is it better to manage it all in-house? When is collaboration the right idea? Let’s start with the null hypothesis: projects that lie squarely within an organization’s “sweet spot” are better off developed in-house. In other words, for incremental improvements to a company’s existing product line it is better for division and group leadership to tell their internal teams to “just do it”. I assert that this internal-only decision is … Continue reading
This is the seventh of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What product or sector is in desperate need of innovation?’. Here is the next perspective in the series:by Mark RoserIn looking across various sectors the area of healthcare stands out as a particular opportunity for innovation. And, regardless which side one takes politically, there is no doubt a surplus of opportunities for improvement. In the US, government healthcare (Medicare and Medicaid) together with private healthcare account for a significant percentage of GDP. As professionals involved in open innovation, readers of this blog will no doubt bring a valued perspective on how we can deliver innovation in this space. Whether we work in the healthcare field or are simply consumers of healthcare, the lessons that we learn from open innovation collaboration are intrinsically required in innovating the future …
This is the second of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on “What roles do engineers and marketers play in an innovation setting, and what conflicts can arise based on their perspectives and approaches?” Here is the next perspective in the series:by Mark RoserPeople interested in the topic of new product development and innovation are likely already familiar with many aspects of bringing technologists together with marketers. There is no shortage of opportunities for both groups to take credit for success but lay the blame for product problems with the other group.Having studied marketing at Wharton while getting my engineering degree at the University of Pennsylvania, I was fortunate to start my career seeing how both types speak about the other. Engineers can caricaturize marketers as talkative, image-sensitive, fashionistas who are more interested in socializing than in working. …
This is the fifth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on “Where should innovation reside?” Here is the next perspective in the series:by Mark RoserHaving consulted in the new product and innovation areas of major pharmaceutical companies and commercial transportation companies over the past 12 years, and in R&D for the 10 years prior, I have seen several variations of how innovation has been ‘owned’ within organizations.The finding I would like to share is that the treatment of innovation by companies follows a progression, and as companies mature, their treatment of innovation also matures. ‘How’ an innovation group is owned appears to be much more important than ‘where’ it is owned.For companies that consider themselves early in adopting an innovation discipline, the notion of innovation can be foreign. In order for the idea of innovation to be accepted within … Continue reading
