Managing Innovation Capability: A Case Study of Invincible Company Limited Thailand

Seventh West Lake International Conference on SMB, October 2005

14 Pages Posted: 4 Jul 2011

See all articles by Suthida Jamsai-Whyte

Suthida Jamsai-Whyte

Ubon Ratchathani Unversity - Faculty of Management Science

Susu Nousala

Aalto University; University of Melbourne

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a case study of Invincible Company Limited, an organization that has successfully completed the manufacture of an innovative fiberglass fire-fighting truck. The study aimed to investigate effective ways in which (i) new product development (ii) e-business and (iii) sustainable development are integrated by companies engaged in the manufacture of innovative products. The main question posed was: How can innovation capability be developed from the integration of the above mentioned components? The case study revealed a relationship between only (i) new product development and (ii) e-business, excluding sustainable development. The sustainable development (SD) component (such as environmental awareness) was not evident at the product conceptualization phase nor did it emerge as a prime focus of the product innovation process. The new product development (NPD) and e-business (EB) became more obvious at the later stage of the post-production phase and as a by-product of best material and technology choices during the manufacturing phase. One of the most striking findings was the way that NPD and EB activities related to the innovation process and how they were applied. Their application appeared to be a direct determinant of the NPD (from which further opportunities and improvements for manufacturing product could be gained) instead of being an attempt to develop innovation capability. These findings raised the concern that the practices in developing innovation capability remained fragmented, lacking a systemic approach. The paper discusses how NPD and EB contribute to the potential success of an innovative small or medium enterprise (SME) in an intensely competitive and “copy-cat” market without the possible success of long-term sustainability. Development of more systemic practices that bring in various elements of all three components (NPD, EB and SD) are required for organizational long term sustainability, innovation capability and goals.

Suggested Citation

Jamsai-Whyte, Suthida and Nousala, Susu, Managing Innovation Capability: A Case Study of Invincible Company Limited Thailand (2005). Seventh West Lake International Conference on SMB, October 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1878571

Suthida Jamsai-Whyte

Ubon Ratchathani Unversity - Faculty of Management Science ( email )

Ubon
Thailand

Susu Nousala (Contact Author)

Aalto University ( email )

P.O. Box 21210
Aalto, FI-00076
Finland

University of Melbourne ( email )

Parkville
Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
85
Abstract Views
731
Rank
531,697
PlumX Metrics