Innovation Management - Creating value with innovation management.

With each new success story generated from collaboration and co-creation, a diverse range of organizations are following suit. Gaurav Bhalla shares a co-creation accomplishment recently recognized by President Obama, involving Local Motors and a government defence agency.

Corporations, governments and individuals are joining forces to implement social innovations all over the world. Gaurav Bhalla takes a closer look at one American city that’s paving the way.

The growing popularity of consumer-created ads has created a market for co-creation intermediaries. Gaurav Bhalla takes a closer look…

We are all very familiar with traditional examples of collaboration and co-creation that produce commercial benefits for companies – Nike, P&G, Electrolux, Unilever, Frito-Lay, etc. But what about social benefits; can emerging platforms of collaboration and co-creation also produce social benefits? Can they channel the energy of everyday citizens into constructive activities that usher change in a more peaceful and civil manner than what we are witnessing across Egypt today? In my opinion, the answer is a definite yes.

Practitioners getting acquainted with collaborative innovation frequently ask the question whether the platforms of collaboration and co-creation work better in certain sectors (finance, technology) and in specific environments (B2B, B2C). Additionally, they also wonder whether these platforms are likely to enjoy greater success with customers who have a relatively higher socio-economic status.

Customer collaboration and co-creation rests on a few key assumptions; that customers are passionate about the collaboration objective(s), and are willing and able to offer their time and creativity. Notice the deliberate usage of the word “offer,” not donate or contribute. Why? Why should customers offer their time and creativity? And what do they get in return? We know how the company or organization inviting collaboration benefits. But how do the collaborators benefit; what’s in it for them?

Diversity of usage and increased exposure are sure-fire indicators to determine whether a particular business practice is destined for faddish despair, or for more enduring glory. Using these indicators, the new and emerging platforms of marketing and innovation – customer collaboration and co-creation – are here to stay. Though still in the early stages of growth and adoption they are fast becoming mainstream business practices, as the following examples illustrate.

Health clinics are a common feature of most urban health care landscapes treating ailments and illnesses not serious enough to be treated by hospitals. But when was the last time you ran into a “clinic of innovation” – a clinic that treats ideas rather than patients? Chances are pretty low, unless you happened to be in Norway recently.

Professor C.K Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Strategy, at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan has passed on. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, as we wish his soul a peaceful onward journey.

Adjustable-rate mortgages. Zero calorie colas. Television webisodes! Even in tough times, companies maintain a healthy slate of new products and ideas by creating new markets or boosting market share in existing segments. But is every new product or service offered to customers an innovation? In this article, Dr. Gaurav Bhalla, with over 30 years of global experience in the fields of strategy, innovation, and marketing shares his thoughts on the subject of innovation.