Baris Yalabik

The innovation game: lessons in strategy and managing operations

Purpose – This paper seeks to present a teaching tool (the Innovation Game) which aims to demonstrate the challenges of developing an effective innovation strategy in the context of new product development. The goal of the game is to enable participants to experience how strategic and operational choices made in relation to innovation strategy are interrelated and how these choices can impact on new product development success. Specifically the paper aims to explore the impact of choices made in relation to capability accumulation, capacity management and product‐portfolio management.Design/methodology/approach – After presenting the learning objectives for the game with the support of relevant literature, the paper describes the design of the game and the context in which it was played. The paper reviews feedback (learning outcomes) from formal reflective post‐game sessions with participants. This feedback indicates that the learning objectives have been satisfied.Findings – Through experiential learning...

Implementing advanced service technologies in the public sector:an exploratory study of the relevance and limitations of insights from private sector manufacturing technology implementation

This research examined (1) to what extent a conceptual model derived from research into advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) implementations offers explanatory insight for a public sector organisation implementing advanced service technology, and (2) how, if at all, the experiences of a specific public sector implementation (the implementation of digital news production at the Swedish State Broadcaster (SVT)) suggest modifications/extensions to the AMT-based conceptual model. The research generated three conclusions. First, synthesising the extant private sector AMT literature produced a concise conceptual model of the factors that underpin success: top management support; technology-organisational adaptation; and training people. Analysis suggests that this private sector, manufacturing-derived model provided strong explanatory insight for this public sector service delivery example. Second, current implementation theory underplays the role played by different types of employee. Some (specific groups (e.g., professionals) have additional power and status and in many public sector organisations they play a central role in delivering services. This inevitably means that they have a disproportionate opportunity to subvert any implementation process. Third, the maturity and specific functionality of the technological resources in the SVT case acted in combination to deliver significant public value. The article concludes with some implications for practice and suggestions for further work.