MSc Sustainability for Business, Society and Environment Cohort: MS/15B/PT Examinations for 2015/2016 Semester I & 2015 Semester II MODULE: INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY MODULE CODE: SSDV 5102B Duration: 3 Hours Instructions to Candidates: 1. This question paper consists of Section A and Section B. 2. Section A is compulsory. 3. Answer any two questions from Section B. 4. Always start a new question on a fresh page. 5. Total Marks: 100 This question paper contains 4 questions and 8 pages. Page 1 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 SECTION A: COMPULSORY QUESTION 1: (40 MARKS) Case Study: Disruptive Innovations within the Imaging Industry (by S.Kohn) Steve Jasson, a Kodak engineer, invented the first digital camera in 1975 and by that started the disruptive transformation of this industry. During this transformation Kodak who once had over 140,000 thousand employees at end of the 1960s reduced its workforce to around 20,000 today with the shedding of around 100,000 jobs since 1988. Other well-known imaging firms like AgfaPhoto went bankrupt or like Konica ceased their imaging activities and concentrated on other fields. While the established imaging companies struggled with the disruptive invention of the digital camera other companies like Nokia – who today is the among the biggest maker of digital cameras (since most mobile phones include a digital camera module) – profited from this development. Another company that was and still is in the midst of this transformation is Fuji Photo Film, today Fujifilm. Fujifilm was founded in 1934 and soon became the number two imaging company behind Kodak with a strong market leadership in its home market in Japan. While Fujifilm and Kodak had a decade long rivalry in its imaging market their answers to the digitalization have been quite different. On one hand Kodak focused on the digital imaging market by building one of the leading online photo services (Kodak Gallery), installing digital print kiosks on a global scale (Kodak Picture Kiosk), becoming one of the leading digital camera makers (Kodak easyshare), moving to the ink jet printer market (Kodacolor) and selling other businesses like the health business to finance the transition. On the other hand Fujifilm who offers also digital cameras and print services, but focused its spending otherwise. It started to venture into adjacent markets. This strategy also found its representation in the new name “Fujifilm” which leaves out the word “photo” and has been introduced with Fujifilm’s so-called “second foundation” in 2006. To execute the second foundation the top-management of Fujifilm in 2004 set up a mid-term management plan called Vision 75 targeting the next 5 years until Fujifilm’s Page 2 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 75th anniversary. In this plan, several core growth fields have been defined, that should spearhead Fujifilm’s future development. The proclaimed fields have in common that they build on the technological competencies of Fujifilm. For making photo sensitive films and paper – Fuji Photo Film’s core products – Fujifilm had to build-up world class material technologies, namely “functional compound molecular design, chemical reaction control and organic synthesis technologies”. In order to realize the potentials existing in the broad technology base of Fujifilm, a traditional innovation process was utilized. Similar to this innovation Fujifilm decided to look into other future growth markets and decided to research its possibilities in the area of “Life sciences”. While Fujifilm managed to keep its number of employees nearly constant at around 75,000 for the last decade, the internal shifts have been impressive. New skillsets for the new business had to build up, existing staff had to be shifted from declining to growing fields. In this context the Japanese management style of Fujifilm with regular job rotation after several years helped to ease the transition. Overall this case shows how the disruptive innovation of the digital camera changed a major player in the imaging business. Answer the following questions based on the above case: (a) By giving an appropriate example from the above case, explain what is meant by the term ‘disruptive innovation’. (4 marks) (b) By making reference to the above case, elaborate on a key factor that encouraged Fujifilm to innovate via adoption of divergent strategies. (2 marks) (c) By giving appropriate examples from the above case, differentiate between: i. Product and Service innovation ii. Architectural and Component innovation (4 + 4 marks) Page 3 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 (d) Elaborate on the traditional innovation process that Fujifilm might have used. (6 marks) (e) Explain what is meant by the ‘Japanese management style of Fujifilm with regular job rotation’. (2 marks) (f) Is a discontinuous technology always a radical product innovation? Explain your answer. (2 marks) (g) Based on Rothwell’s proposed five generations of innovation process models, i. Describe the innovation process model that was used in the 1970s? ii. Critically compare the innovation process model used in part i. with the one adopted today. (4 + 4 marks) (h) Innovation is a field considered to be characterized by the presence of market failures. i. What is meant by this notion and what could be a potential cause for market failures? ii. Suggest two solutions to reduce market failures. iii. Would you agree that such market failures are indeed present and if so, does this apply for all types of innovative activity? (2 + 4 + 2 marks) Page 4 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 SECTION B: ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTIONS QUESTION 2: (30 MARKS) You have been appointed as a consultant to advise a large, traditional manufacturing firm whose products are facing obsolescence. Your initial audit of the company highlights a failure to innovate over many years. Answer the following questions: (a) Briefly outline five reasons why large organisations often struggle to innovate. (5 marks) (b) Briefly explain how the following could help the organisation to be more innovative: i. Skunkworks ii. Flatter organisation (3 + 3 marks) (c) Suggest four ways in which an organisation might encourage its people to generate new ideas and innovate. (4 marks) (d) Explain what is meant by the term systematic innovations. Does it make sense to implement an innovative structure within the firm? In other words, is innovation accidental or can it be planned? Discuss. (7 marks) (e) Should the company focus on breakthrough innovations or continuous improvements? Discuss. (5 marks) Page 5 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 (f) Initial actions taken by the firm to build an innovation culture could cause a reluctance to change by employees. Outline three techniques that could be adopted so as to reduce such resistance to change. (3 marks) QUESTION 3: (30 MARKS) Case Study: The Electronics Industry and Eco-Innovation The electronics industry has so far been mostly concerned with its products’ energy consumption. With consumer demand for electronic equipment exploding, companies are also seeking more efficient ways to dispose of their products. Most eco-innovations in this industry have focused on technological advancements in the form of product or process modification and re-design. These, in turn, build upon a number of innovative organisational and institutional arrangements. A notable example is IBM’s use of “innovation jams”. Alternative business models, such as providing product-service solutions rather than physical products, have also emerged. Answer the following questions: (a) From the above case, two eco-innovation mechanisms that the Electronics Industry has been focusing on are modification and re-design. Elaborate on two other mechanisms not well exploited by the industry. (4 marks) (b) Outline two key drivers and three barriers to eco-innovation within the Electronics Industry. (5 marks) (c) By making use of appropriate examples, distinguish between organisational and institutional eco-innovation. (4 marks) Page 6 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 (d) What are innovation jams and how could these be used to promote eco- innovation within IBM? (2 + 2 marks) (e) Discuss the role that government can play to promote eco-innovation at organisational level. (5 marks) (f) Clear and consistent indicators are often needed to accelerate corporate sustainability efforts. Outline four such indicators that could be used by firms within this industry. (8 marks) QUESTION 4: (30 MARKS) As human beings are becoming increasingly dependent on technology, the relationship of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with the natural environment is continuously degrading. ICT is being considered as a power drainer and it has become important to green the IT ecosystem. On the other hand, ICT is also considered as an important means to conserve energy and also as a key player in energy efficiency. In the near future, ICT is expected to play a critical role in supporting the necessary paradigm shifts within the energy sector towards a more sustainable generation of electricity. Various emerging technologies are also expected to help towards reducing the growing energy consumption in the various sectors. Answer the following questions: (a) Explain why ICT is being considered as a power drainer. (2 marks) (b) What does “Greening the IT ecosystem” mean? Discuss the approach that could be used to green this eco-system. (2 + 4 marks) Page 7 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 (c) By making use of an appropriate example, distinguish between the terms conservation and energy efficiency. (4 marks) (d) By giving appropriate examples, explain how the following emerging technologies can help towards greening ICT. i. Augmented Reality ii. Ubiquitous Computing (4 + 4 marks) (e) Discuss how ICT can help towards reducing the carbon emissions within the transportation sector. (5 marks) (f) Computational technologies have indeed facilitated printing and publishing. Discuss how users can green their printing practices. (5 marks) ***END OF QUESTION PAPER*** Page 8 of 8 SSDTex/NovDec 2015 .