Innovation & Technology for IBA
Innovation & Technology Management
2025/2026
,Lecture 1
Innovation = the successful implementation of new or significantly improved products,
processes, services, or business models that create value
Technology = the application of scientific and practical knowledge embodied in artifacts,
processes, and systems to achieve human goals.
Management = the process of planning, organizing, controlling and leading resources and
activities in order to achieve organizational objectives
→ Innovation is not just one thing
● Disruptive Innovation
● Product Innovation
● Process Innovation
● Experiential Innovation
● Marketing Innovation
● Business Model Innovation
● Structural Innovation
→ S-curve in the diffusion of innovators
Innovators’ dilemma
According to Clayton Christensen, failure to adapt to disruptive innovation is not the result of
bad management, but a result of good management.
● Large companies depend on their existing customers and investors for resources.
● They listen closely to these customers and investors, engage in sustaining innovation, and
kill ideas for which there is little need.
● Disruptive technologies typically have (at least initially):
○ lower profit margins
1
, ○ small markets
○ no reliable market statistics
→ Sustaining vs. Disruptive Innovation
● Sustaining innovation strengthens existing products and services
● Disruptive innovation challenges the status quo, can make existing products and services
become obsolete.
2
, Lecture 2
Does firm size matter for innovation?
→ Firm size – (Dis) advantages for Innovation
● Advantages
○ Ample resources
○ Operational scale and broad product and market scope
○ Legitimacy and brand recognition
○ Market power and influence
● Disadvantages
○ Complex bureaucracy and slow decision-making (structural and cultural inertia)
○ Risk of product cannibalization
○ Reduced flexibility
○ Reduced entrepreneurial spirit
Firm Size and Innovation Impact
→ Advantages of Large Firms
Large firms have ample resources, strong brand recognition, and operational scale which support
substantial innovation projects and market reach.
→ Challenges for Large Firms
Complex bureaucracy and slow decision-making can hinder innovation in large
firms, often resulting in resistance to organizational changes.
→ Strengths of Small Firms
Small firms are more flexible and adapt quickly to change, driven by entrepreneurial spirit and
willingness to innovate.
3
Innovation & Technology Management
2025/2026
,Lecture 1
Innovation = the successful implementation of new or significantly improved products,
processes, services, or business models that create value
Technology = the application of scientific and practical knowledge embodied in artifacts,
processes, and systems to achieve human goals.
Management = the process of planning, organizing, controlling and leading resources and
activities in order to achieve organizational objectives
→ Innovation is not just one thing
● Disruptive Innovation
● Product Innovation
● Process Innovation
● Experiential Innovation
● Marketing Innovation
● Business Model Innovation
● Structural Innovation
→ S-curve in the diffusion of innovators
Innovators’ dilemma
According to Clayton Christensen, failure to adapt to disruptive innovation is not the result of
bad management, but a result of good management.
● Large companies depend on their existing customers and investors for resources.
● They listen closely to these customers and investors, engage in sustaining innovation, and
kill ideas for which there is little need.
● Disruptive technologies typically have (at least initially):
○ lower profit margins
1
, ○ small markets
○ no reliable market statistics
→ Sustaining vs. Disruptive Innovation
● Sustaining innovation strengthens existing products and services
● Disruptive innovation challenges the status quo, can make existing products and services
become obsolete.
2
, Lecture 2
Does firm size matter for innovation?
→ Firm size – (Dis) advantages for Innovation
● Advantages
○ Ample resources
○ Operational scale and broad product and market scope
○ Legitimacy and brand recognition
○ Market power and influence
● Disadvantages
○ Complex bureaucracy and slow decision-making (structural and cultural inertia)
○ Risk of product cannibalization
○ Reduced flexibility
○ Reduced entrepreneurial spirit
Firm Size and Innovation Impact
→ Advantages of Large Firms
Large firms have ample resources, strong brand recognition, and operational scale which support
substantial innovation projects and market reach.
→ Challenges for Large Firms
Complex bureaucracy and slow decision-making can hinder innovation in large
firms, often resulting in resistance to organizational changes.
→ Strengths of Small Firms
Small firms are more flexible and adapt quickly to change, driven by entrepreneurial spirit and
willingness to innovate.
3
