Convenience

radical innovations
A new product,
service, or
technology that
completely replaces
an existing one
incremental
innovations
A new product,
service, or
technology that
modifies an existing
one
Chapter 7:
Organization Change and Innovation
2 1 1
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The implementation of robotics is a process innovation. The effect of product and
process innovations on economic return depends on the stage of the innovation process
that a new product or service occupies. At first, during development, application, and
launch, the physical attributes and capabilities of an innovation mostly affect organiza-
tional performance. Thus, product innovations are particularly important during these
beginning phases. Later, as an innovation enters the phases of growth, maturity, and
decline, an organization’s ability to develop process innovations, such as fine-tuning
manufacturing, increasing product quality, and improving product distribution, becomes
important to maintaining economic return.
Japanese organizations have often excelled at process innovation. The market for
SLR cameras was dominated by German and other European manufacturers when, in
the early 1960s, Japanese organizations such as Canon and Nikon began making
cameras. Some of these early Japanese products were not very successful, but these compa-
nies continued to invest in their process technology and eventually were able to increase
quality and decrease manufacturing costs. The Japanese organizations came to dominate
the worldwide market for SLR cameras, and the German companies, because they were
not able to maintain the same pace of process innovation, struggled to maintain market
share and profitability. And as film technology gave way to digital photography, the same
Japanese firms effectively transitioned to leadership in this market as well.