Factors Of Innovation And Commercialization At 3M

Modern day organizations rely heavily on innovation in order to differentiate their product and services in the market in which it operates. In order to foster innovation, organizations focuses on implementing creativity not just as a team but as a culture in the organization, where every employee of the organization from top to bottom are encouraged to think creatively without thinking about the outcome associated with it or thinking about being punished or ridiculed for such ideas. This paper focuses on the factors which are responsible for innovation at 3M and also focuses on the benefits of commercialization for innovative companies.

Discussion

1. The factors which have made 3M an innovative organization are as follows:

• As stated by Lesáková et al. (2017) the organization culture of 3M helps the employees of the company to become more creative in nature. The organization culture of the company helps in encouraging their employees to take risks without any fear of getting punished. Further organization culture of 3M provides freedom to their employees to explore new ideas within the business environment and bears the mistakes committed by the employees of the company during such innovative trails and understands; manages the risks which are involved.
• Innovative and productive idea generation tools and techniques implemented by the organization such as brainstorming and reverse thinking helps in generating creative ideas among the employees of the company.
• As stated by Souza and Bruno-Faria (2013) the customer focus approach of 3M helps in finding out the exact needs and requirements of their customers through detailed market research. The main focus of the organization is to estimate the exact needs and requirements of the customers and accordingly design and manufacture products to satisfy customer needs.
• The proactive nature of the organization and its managers helps in creating a creative environment for the generation of ideas.

As stated by Zhao, Zhou and Ci (2017) the business functions of 3M contributed to their success due to above mentioned factors driven with research and development function that has helped in the development of innovative ideas and products for the company along with development of the human resource function which had created a suitable working environment in 3M through its policies.

1. The importance of the commercialization process for innovative organizations such as 3M are as follows:

• As opined by Schillo (2014) the process of commercialization helps in increasing the profits and revenue of the company which is very essential for the growth and development of 3M.
• According to Baycan and Stough (2013) the process of commercialization provides an opportunity to innovative organizations to engage with industry partners, investors and other businesses and this partnership helps in additional funding sources for company thereby helping to develop the quality of their products further to improve. This is possible due to partnership which helps 3M get access to improved sources of raw materials and research and development.
• As stated by Khalil et al. (2017) the process of commercialization helps in the recruitment and retention of the best people in the company as the process of commercialization builds a positive image and reputation in the market in which the company operates thereby helping to in attract top candidates for work at 3M.
• The products of the companies spans across sectors such as healthcare, environmental, wellness, fitness, education, industrial applications and day to day life and therefore the innovation which results from the research and development process are most impactful when the products are in the hands of those individuals who can benefit from them the most and therefore societal benefits is one of the key drivers of commercialization for innovative companies.

1. Google Assistant is one of the most innovative software which had been launched by Google in the recent years. Google Assistant is the Artificial Intelligence powered software which is used to talk when using a Google Home speaker or when the user presses the home button in their android smartphones. Suppose, if a user wants to dim the lights with a voice command or get traffic updates from the voice command, Google Assistant enables the user to do so by using a wide range of third party smart home products and speakers.

The reason for the innovative nature of the product is as follows:

• As opined by Simula, Povilas and Berg (2013) the company invests heavily in terms of research and development which is evident from the fact that Google spends billions of dollars each year for the purpose of research and development by funding more than 250 research projects annually. The company invites meritorious scholars to spend sabbaticals at the company headquarters and give them with the opportunity to delve into huge amount of research work. The company also invests in various startup companies in order to develop or refine products.
• The company has developed and implanted its famous 20 per cent rule in the company wherein the employees are encouraged to spend 20 percent of their time in the projects which appeals them and the same rule of the company is applicable for everyone in the company, top to bottom.
• As opined by Girniene (2013) the company believes in breaking normal teams of the organization in to self-sufficient start up teams which helps in driving innovation. The company has a lean team which operates away from the day-to-day bustle of the main offices and helps keep the operation of the company smooth and efficient as it believes in the philosophy that out of sight does not mean out of mind.
• The company encourages collaboration in every level of its operation ranging from top to bottom. Whenever the projects of the company take place, the company aims to maintain a tight feedback loop which helps in promoting quick decision making. Instead of using the assembly line approach, the researchers, engineers and product mangers of the company work together throughout projects and accordingly decide what must be worth looking into further for future projects.

Conclusion

From the above report it is clear and evident that innovation is a very vital factor which helps modern day organizations to gain competitive advantage in the market and makes them sustainable in the sector. It is also evident that in order foster innovation, companies should focus on developing a culture in the organization which fosters innovation and should invest heavily in the research and development process.

References

Baycan, T., and Stough, R. R. (2013). Bridging knowledge to commercialization: The good, the bad, and the challenging. The Annals of Regional Science, [Online]50(2), 367-405. Available at doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00168-012-0510-8 Accessed as on 28/11/2018

Girniene, I. (2013). Knowledge management influence on innovation: Theoretical analysis of organizational factors. European Conference on Knowledge Management

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Khalil Zadeh, N., Khalilzadeh, M., Mozafari, M., Vasei, M., and Amoei Ojaki, A. (2017). Challenges and difficulties of technology commercialization – a mixed-methods study of an industrial development organization. Management Research Review, [Online]40(7), 745-767. 

Lesáková, ?., Gundová, P., Krá?, P., and Ondrušová, A. (2017). Innovation leaders, modest innovators and non-innovative SMEs: Key factors and barriers of innovation activity. Organizacija, [Online]50(4), 325-338. Available at doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/orga-2017-0024 Accessed as on 28/11/2018

Schillo, S. (2014). Commercialization and public good: Conflict, complement, or critical component? Technology Innovation Management Review,[Online] 4(7), 27-35Simula, H., Povilas, V., and Berg, P. (2013). Empirical comparison of commercialization of radical product and technology innovations. ISPIM Conference Proceedings: Manchester, [Online]1-15.

Souza, J. C., and Bruno-Faria, M. (2013). The innovation process in the organizational context: An analysis of helping and hindering factors. Brazilian Business Review,[Online] 10(3), 108-129.

Zhao, Y., Zhou, R., and Ci, Y. (2017). Factors influencing service innovation of MSNs in china: A theoretical and empirical research. Library Hi Tech, [Online] 35(3), 368-385.