Building an Innovation Factory

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that A. Hargadon and R. I. Sutton in 'Building an Innovation Factory' from "Harvard Business Review on Innovation" state that one of the most effective strategies for developing innovative products is a think-tank community in which multiple persons gather and test new ideas. The author points out that while management may recognize the value of the innovation factory it is often hard-pressed to put into effect the strategies that promote both the factory itself and the ideas that it generates. The paper relates that, in active innovative think tanks, there is a strong need for the knowledge broker, a person or an organization that functions as a broker between the innovator and a point of sale. The author describes three stages of the innovation-development process or cycles: capturing the good ideas, keeping the ideas alive and imagining new uses for old ideas. The paper concludes that the innovation factory not only helps create new ideas but also ensures their movement and continued development throughout different organizations.

Table of Contents:
Hargadon and Sutton: "Building an Innovation Factory"
The Knowledge Broker
The Innovation-Development Process
Transfer of Technology

From the Paper:

"Innovation factories affect the transfer of technology not only through moving information through brokers but also through informal channels such as dialogue and communication. The use of the knowledge broker is more secure, especially as these third parties have effectively created a new economic position for themselves based upon the value of the services that they provide. However, it is also useful for the innovators of different companies to participate in group sessions and dialogues; while the confidentiality of the company's information and products must be maintained, dialogue can not only help foster new sources of ideas but can help improve the ones that already exist."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hargadon, A. & Sutton, R. I. (2001). Building an Innovation Factory. In Harvard Business Review on Innovation. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard Business School Publishing Co.

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