BUS368: Innovation is Not just About Doing Something new It can also be About Doing Something Better: Innovation Management and Digital Transformation Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Question 1

“Innovation is not just about doing something new. It can also be about doing something better.”

Samsung has been growing and innovating since 1938 when it started out shipping dried fish and flour from Korea to China. In the 1950s it got into life insurance and textiles. Samsung Electronics was founded in 1969. In the early 1990s, Samsung started producing processors and hard drives for PCs, exporting them to companies including today’s smartphone rival Apple.

Samsung did not invent the mobile phone. Motorola was the first mover in mobile phones. Samsung took the technology and became the leader.

In 1983, when Motorola launched the Motorola 8000, Samsung was still proudly making black and white TVs. Today, the Motorola brand name has all but vanished.

Samsung introduced its first Android phone, the Galaxy S, in 2010.
(a) Illustrate how did Samsung achieve its success? Focus your answer on the mobile phone business.

(b) Identify another second-mover, from any different industry, that became more successful than the first mover. Can you discuss and analyze why this was so? Provide relevant examples.

Question 2

“Innovate or Die” – Peter Drucker

(a) Formulate an explanation and a critique of the “diffusion of innovation” theory by Rogers (1962). Consider the adoption of technology by consumers and overall market share. Relate the theory to real-life examples and products.

(b) Five factors influencing the rate of adoption of new technology are
a) Relative advantage
b) Compatibility
c) Complexity (or simplicity)
d) Trialability
e) Observability (Rogers 1962).

Contrast the relative importance of these factors citing real-life examples. You need to give at least two (2) examples for each of the five factors; one example showing how the product/service was successful and the rate of adoption was influenced by the factor, and another example of unsuccessful adoption and where the product/service lacks the relevant factor.