Managing for Successful Innovation

Abstract

In this article, Professor Newby outlines a strategy for the effective management of innovation. In the context of institutional impediments to change – organizational structures, communication and skills – he argues that for firms in countries like the UK and USA to move into the ‘New Competition’ age, typical of Japanese firms, there will need to be significant changes within the firm and at regional and national levels. He sets out a strategy for change, in which the key elements are the development of a ‘skills strategy’, the establishment and exploitation of strategic sources of information, and the recognition that cooperation is as important as competition (with the resulting focus on symbiosis and synergy). His argument draws on the results of several recent UK research studies.