The Dynamics of Innovation: Strategic and Managerial Implications - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3540656596 ISBN 13: 9783540656593

Publisher: Springer, 1999

Synopsis

Jorg Bensinger, a group head of Audi corporation's R&D depart­ ment, had been waiting for long to find a chance to advertise his idea of a four-wheel drive for passenger cars to one of the board mem­ bers. Favorable experiences had been collected in drive tests with the lItis, a jeep-like car developed for use in the German army. The ex­ periences showed extremely good performance on icy roads and in snow. Bensinger's chance came in February of 1977, when he could talk to Ferdinand Piech, then R&D vice president of Audi and a technology buff. At this time Audi wasn't quite considered as a tech­ nological leader in the public. Technology based innovations were expected from Mercedes or Porsche by many customers. Piech, Ben­ singer, and others sensed that introducing the four-wheel drive to passenger cars could initiate a strategic change. Under great secrecy development work and prototype construction were commissioned. One obstacle seemed to be space requirements for the gear-box. Hans Nedvidek, former race-track engineer in the Mercedes team, was assigned to the team, and he developed an ingenious solution to the problem. It took until September of 1977 until other board mem­ bers were informed, and after some rallying the board found a con­ sensus in the next month to authorize further development steps for a four-wheel drive car. However, Audi is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Corp. The accord of the much bigger mother had to be secured.

About this title

Synopsis

The dynamics of innovation are viewed in this book both from a strategic and project perspective: First, innovations might lead to a radical restructuring of a firm. Second, the necessary restructuring is only possible if highly dedicated and committed individuals cooperate to achieve the desired outcomes. Third, any successful innovation has to fit into a strategic framework. This, in itself, is difficult to identify and it is in flux, depending on changes in the technological and competitive environment as well as the mastering of the innovation process itself. The book assembles contributions from American and German researchers on dynamic aspects of strategy formation and strategic impacts on the one hand, and dynamic aspects of project management on the other hand.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3540656596
• ISBN 13: 9783540656593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 361
• Editor: Brockhoff Klaus, Chakrabarti Alok K., Hauschildt Jürgen