How can R&D Management help exploit Thematic Similarity?

The article In Praise of Dissimilarity from MIT Sloan Management Review has very important implications for R&D management.  The article describes how most managers view similarity based on functionality or product taxonomy (e.g solid state drives and hard drives are similar).  However, another way to look for similarity is based on how different products interact in a

Kodak’s 30-year Slide into Bankruptcy

The article What’s Wrong with This Picture: Kodak’s 30-year Slide into Bankruptcy in Knowledge@Wharton makes some interesting points.  Here is my summary.  Kodak, once an industry leader and an innovator could not succeed because of the fear of cannibalizing existing film business. The technology is one of countless innovations that Kodak developed over the years but failed to

Why Open Innovation is hard to implement

We have often discussed how innovation has become a buzzword with many myths surrounding what drives innovation. I was recently discussing Open Innovation with an R&D executive.  He made a pretty significant remark: There are lots of positive articles around open innovation, but there do not seem to be many balanced evaluations of the approach.  Fortuitously, Knowledge@Wharton

The Innovation Premium

INSEAD Knowledge had an intriguing article that I have been meaning to write about.  The Innovation Premium meanders along multiple themes (some of them untenable) but in the end has a couple of interesting observations.  The article discusses the book The Innovator’s DNA: “Innovation makes millionaires and undermines monopolies. It raises the profitability of companies and