Five Stories that Illustrate Three Generalizations About Radical Innovations

Industrial Marketing Management, 2014, 43(4): 1278–1283

19 Pages Posted: 11 Apr 2017

See all articles by William H. Starbuck

William H. Starbuck

University of Oregon - Charles H. Lundquist School of Business; New York University (NYU) - Department of Management and Organizational Behavior

Date Written: April 2014

Abstract

Why do organizations resist radical innovations? How can organizations make radical innovations when they want to do so? This paper offers three generalizations about the processes that generate radical innovations, and it illustrates these generalizations with five symbolic stories. Two stories tell about organizations that had trouble innovating but ultimately succeeded, and three stories tell about tremendously successful radical innovation. The generalizations assert that radical innovation is a discovery process that yields unintended outcomes, that participants in radical innovation have to market their innovations to intended coworkers, funding sources, and potential customers, and that social interaction can stimulate, reinforce, and steer radical innovation.

Keywords: innovation, discovery, marketing, social interaction, leadership, perception

Suggested Citation

Starbuck, William H., Five Stories that Illustrate Three Generalizations About Radical Innovations (April 2014). Industrial Marketing Management, 2014, 43(4): 1278–1283, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2951183

William H. Starbuck (Contact Author)

University of Oregon - Charles H. Lundquist School of Business ( email )

1208 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1208
United States

New York University (NYU) - Department of Management and Organizational Behavior ( email )

44 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10012
United States

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