MIT Sloan Management Review

What if what you know about the innovation process is wrong? That’s a question Eric von Hippel thinks companies should consider.

Von Hippel, professor of technological innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has spent much of his career doing research that has led him to a radical conclusion: The traditional view of the product innovation process is flawed. In the traditional view, companies get too much credit for product innovation, according to von Hippel — and users get too little.

In a recent interview with the website InnovationManagement, open innovation expert Henry Chesbrough discussed his new book, Open Services Innovation, and the importance of service innovation in general:

“We know a lot about how to innovate new products, new processes, and new technologies, but know far less about how to innovate

Does your organization have more data than it really knows what to do with?

If so, you're not alone.

Collaboration is all the rage in business these days -- and for good reason, given the complex challenges businesses face today. But recently published research suggests that collaboration can exact heavy time costs if done inefficiently.

Consider this.

The website Bright Hub recently chose MIT Sloan Management Review's iPhone app as one of the five best iPhone apps for managers. 

The MIT SMR app is compatible with the iPhone (OS 3.0

 Think your colleagues are wasting time when they chat together? Think again. 

There's an interesting article in Forbes magazine about new research from MIT Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland's group at the MIT Media Lab.

Could BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill been prevented if workers on the oil rig had felt more empowered to report problems? That's a question raised by Rick Wartzman, executive director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, in an interesting column recently published by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Today's Wall Street Journal  has a noteworthy front-page article about the "bullwhip" effect, as it is starting to play out in businesses as the economy recuperates. What's the bullwhip effect? The WSJ article explains:
"This phenomenon occurs when companies significantly cut or add inventories.

We're pleased to report that FOLIO: has honored MIT Sloan Management Review with a 2009 Ozzie Award for the recent redesign of our publication.

Innovation strategy expert Vijay Govindarajan thinks that businesses should be careful not to abandon innovation in their quest for efficiency and cost control during a recession — but they may need to reduce their focus on risky breakthrough innovation plans.

Should established companies even try to launch new ventures regularly? Two management researchers discussed that question recently.

BusinessWeek this week highlights a number of companies that are pursuing growth despite the recession --including Inditex (owner of clothing retailer Zara), Procter & Gamble, and small entrepreneurial businesses such as JustAnswer.Â

Are the dynamics of innovation shifting in ways that favor larger companies more than entrepreneurial ones?

MIT Sloan School professor Arnoldo C. Hax, a well-known strategy expert, thinks companies need a different approach to thinking about strategy.

According to Clayton Christensen, the customer is the wrong unit of analysis for innovators to focus on. Instead, focus on the job that customers are trying to get done when they use your product or service.

In a downturn like this one, every company should — in some sense — think of itself as a new business, according to Harvard Business School’s Lynda Applegate.

Looking for ways to keep the cost of materials and supplies low? In an article in the Spring 2009 issue of MIT Sloan Management Review, John A. Pearce II discusses the opportunities represented by product reconstruction.

MIT Sloan School professor Simon Johnson offers an unsettling interpretation of the financial crisis. Also: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke about the relationship between financial innovation and consumer protection.

A new article in MIT Sloan Management Review argues that mass customization could make sense for most businesses.

Don’t have all the resources you’d like due to the economic downturn? Fear not: Resource constraints can spark creativity, according to a new article.