The last few decades have seen a profound transformation of innovation project management within automobile firms. During the 1990s, the product development phase was revolutionized by the deployment of heavyweight project management, project portfolio processes, and platform strategies. The 2000s saw the forces of change move upstream in the innovation process, with the development of new methodologies intended to develop and orient creativity, as well as new upfront units acting as innovation labs. However, many upfront creative endeavors still encounter an innovation valley of death when they move into the rigid and risk-averse development phase. Thus, the frontier of innovative project organization seems to be the ongoing quest to reconcile the emergence of breakthrough innovations in the upfront phase with the more rationalized nature of development phases. Based on a case study of a disruptive low-cost car, this article analyzes how the product development phase can support innovative exploration to overcome the challenge of achieving a major cost breakthrough. We analyze the specific content of the project’s innovations (fractal innovation) and the management practices and organizations used to implement them. We characterize how such innovative product development can contribute to a new economy of innovative effort within the global innovation funnel of the firm. We compare this global innovation process, where development projects play a major role as a locus for organizational learning, to the customary one in automotive firms, where learning happens essentially in front-end marketing and engineering departments.
AbernathyW. J.UtterbackJ. M. (1978). Patterns of industrial innovation. Technology Review, 80, 41–47.
2.
AubryM.LenfleS. (2012). Projectification: Midler’s footprint in the project management field. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 5(4), 680–694.
3.
AubryM.MüllerR.HobbsB.BlomquistT. (2010). Project management offices in transition. International Journal of Project Management, 28(8), 766–778.
4.
BeckK.BeedleM.Van BennekumA.CockburnA.CunninghamW.FowlerM.…ThomasD. (2001). Manifesto for agile software development. Retrieved fromhttp://www.agilemanifesto.org/
5.
BeiseM. (2001). Lead markets: Country-specific success factors of the global diffusion of innovations (Vol. 14). Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.
6.
Ben Mahmoud-JouiniS. (2015, June). Innovation units within established firms: Towards a cartography. IPDMC Proceedings, Copenhagen, Denmark.
7.
Ben Mahmoud-JouiniS.LenfleS. (2010). Platform re-use lessons from the automotive industry. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 30(1), 98–124.
8.
Ben Mahmoud-JouiniS. B.MidlerC. (1999). Compétition par l’innovation et dynamique des systèmes de conception dans les entreprises françaises—Une comparaison de trois secteurs (Innovation-based competition and the dynamics of design systems of firms: A comparison between three sectors). Entreprise et Histoire, 23(4), 36–62.
9.
Ben Mahmoud-JouiniS.MidlerC.CruzV.GaudronN. (2014). How physical artefacts contribute to design processes. Academy of Management Proceedings, Academy of Management, Briarcliff Manor, NY, 2014(1), 14113.
10.
Ben Mahmoud-JouiniS.MidlerC.SilberzahnP. (2016). Contributions of design thinking to project management in an innovation context. Project Management Journal, 47(2), 144–156.
11.
BerggrenC.BergekA. (Eds.). (2011). Knowledge integration and innovation: Critical challenges facing international technology-based firms. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
12.
BlomquistT.MüllerR. (2006). Practices, roles, and responsibilities of middle managers in program and portfolio management. Project Management Journal, 37(1), 52–66.
13.
BradyT.DaviesA. (2004). Building project capabilities: From exploratory to exploitative learning. Organization Studies, 25(9), 1601–1621.
14.
BrownT. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. New York, NY: Harper-Collins.
15.
BrownT.KatzB. (2011). Change by design. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28(3), 381–383.
16.
ChenB.MidlerC. (2016). Designing strategy for the globalization of innovation: Perspectives for foreign electric vehicle manufacturers in China. International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 16(4), 436–463.
17.
ChristensenC. M. (1998). The innovator’s dilemna: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
18.
ChristensenC. M.KaufmanS. P.ShihW. C. (2008). Innovation killers. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 98–105.
19.
ClarkK. B.FujimotoT. (1991). Product development performance: Strategy, organization and management in the world auto industry. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
20.
CooperR. G.EdgettS. J.KleinschmidtE. J. (1999). New product portfolio management: Practices and performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 16(4), 333–351.
21.
CooperR. G.KleinschmidtE. J. (1986). An investigation into the new product process: Steps, deficiencies and impact. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 3(2), 71–85.
22.
CusumanoM. A.NobeokaK.KentaroN. (1998). Thinking beyond lean: How multi-project management is transforming product development at Toyota and other companies. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
23.
DaviesA.MacAulayS.DeBarroT.ThurstonM. (2014). Making innovation happen in a megaproject: London’s crossrail suburban railway system. Project Management Journal, 45(6), 25–37.
24.
FloridaR.KenneyM. (1991). Transplanted organizations: The transfer of Japanese industrial organization to the US. American Sociological Review, 56, 381–398.
25.
GarciaR.CalantoneR. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: A literature review. The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(2), 110–132.
26.
GarelG. (1996). L’entreprise sur un plateau: Un exemple de gestion de projet concourante dans l’industrie automobile. EUROPE, 6, 8.
27.
GawerA. (2009). Platforms, markets and innovation. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
28.
GawerA. (2014). Bridging differing perspectives on technological platforms: Toward an integrative framework. Research Policy, 43(7), 1239–1249.
29.
GemündenH. G. (2015). When less is more, and when less is less. Project Management Journal, 46(3), 3–9.
30.
GemündenH. G.LehnerP.KockA. (2018). The project-oriented organization and its contribution to innovation. International Journal of Project Management, 36(1), 147–160.
31.
GibsonC. B.BirkinshawJ. (2004). The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 209–226.
32.
GovindarajanV.TrimbleC. (2012). Reverse innovation: Create far from home, win everywhere. Brighton, MA: Harvard Business Press.
33.
HatchuelA.WeilB. (2008). C-K design theory: An advanced formulation. Research in Engineering Design, 19(4), 181–192.
34.
HendersonR. M.ClarkK. B. (1990). Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 9–30.
35.
HobbsB.AubryM. (2007). A multi-phase research program investigating project management offices (PMOs): The results of phase 1. Project Management Journal, 38(1), 74–86.
36.
HobdayM. (2000). The project-based organisation: An ideal form for managing complex products and systems?Research Policy, 29(7–8), 871–893.
37.
ImaiM. (1986). Kaizen (Vol. 201). New York, NY: Random House Business Division.
38.
ItazakiH. (1999). The Prius that shook the world. Tokyo, Japan: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
39.
JullienB.LungY.MidlerC. (2013). The Logan epic: New trajectories for innovation. Paris, France: Dunod.
40.
KeeganA.TurnerJ. R. (2002). The management of innovation in project-based firms. Long Range Planning, 35(4), 367–388.
41.
KesterC. (1984). Today’s options for tomorrow’s growth. Brighton, MA: Harvard Business Review.
42.
KhuranaA.RosenthalS. R. (1997). Integrating the fuzzy front end of new product development. Sloan Management Review, 38(2), 103–120.
43.
KimJ.WilemonD. (2002). Focusing the fuzzy front–end in new product development. R&D Management, 32(4), 269–279.
44.
KoenP.AjamianG.BurkartR.ClamenA.DavidsonJ.D’AmoreR.…WagnerK. (2001). Providing clarity and a common language to the “fuzzy front end.”Research-Technology Management, 44(2), 46–55.
45.
Le MassonP.WeilB.HatchuelA. (2010). Strategic management of innovation and design. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
46.
LenfleS. (2008). Exploration and project management. International Journal of Project Management, 26(5), 469–478.
47.
LenfleS. (2016). Floating in space? On the strangeness of exploratory projects. Project Management Journal, 47(2), 47–61.
48.
LenfleS.LochC. (2010). Lost roots: How project management came to emphasize control over flexibility and novelty. California Management Review, 53(1), 32–55.
49.
LundinR. A.BradyN.EkstedT.MidlerE. C.SydowJ. (2015). Managing and working in project society: Institutional challenges of temporary organizations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
50.
MagadleyW.BirdiK. (2009). Innovation labs: An examination into the use of physical spaces to enhance organizational creativity. Creativity and Innovation Management, 18(4), 315–325.
51.
ManiakR. (2010, May19–22). Mapping the “full value” of innovative features in projectified firms. EURAM Conference, Rome, Italy.
52.
ManiakR.MidlerC. (2014). Multiproject lineage management: Bridging project management and design-based innovation strategy. International Journal of Project Management, 32(7), 1146–1156.
53.
ManiakR.MidlerC.BeaumeR.PechmannF. V. (2014). Featuring capability: How carmakers organize to deploy innovative features across products. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(1), 114–127.
54.
ManiakR.MidlerC.LenfleS.Le Pellec-DaironM. (2014). Value management for exploration projects. Project Management Journal, 45(4), 55–66.
55.
MarkhamS. K. (2002). Moving technologies from lab to market. Research-Technology Management, 45(6), 31–42.
56.
MarkhamS. K. (2013). The impact of front-end innovation activities on product performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(1), 77–92.
57.
MarkhamS. K.LeeH. (2013). Use of an innovation board to integrate the front end of innovation with formal NDP processes: A longitudinal study. Research-Technology Management, 56(4), 37–44.
58.
MarkhamS. K.WardS. J.Aiman-SmithL.KingonA. I. (2010). The valley of death as context for role theory in product innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27(3), 402–417.
59.
MaylorH.BradyT.Cooke-DaviesT.HodgsonD. (2006). From projectification to programmification. International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 663–674.
60.
MidlerC. (1993). L’Auto qui n’existait pas: Management des projets et transformation de l’entreprise. (The car that did not exist: Project management and transformation of the firm). Paris, France: InterEditions.
61.
McDermottC. M.O’ConnorG. C. (2002). Managing radical innovation: An overview of emergent strategy issues. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(6), 424–438.
62.
MidlerC. (1995). “Projectification” of the firm: The Renault case. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 11(4), 363–375.
63.
MidlerC. (2013). Implementing low-end disruption strategy through multi-project lineage management: The logan case. Project Management Journal, 44(5), 24–35.
64.
MidlerC.JullienB.LungY. (2017). Rethinking innovation and design for emerging markets: Inside the Renault Kwid project. Oxford, UK: Taylor & Francis.
65.
MidlerC.KillenC.KockA. (2016). Project and innovation management: Bridging contemporary trends in therory and practice. Project Management Journal, 47(2), 3–7.
66.
MidlerC.NavarreC. (2004). Project management in automotive industry. In MorrisP. W. G.PintoJ. K. (Eds.), The Wiley guide to managing projects (pp. 1368–1388). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
67.
MooreG. A.McKennaR. (1999). Crossing the chasm. New York, NY: HarperBusiness.
68.
MorrisP. W. (2013). Reconstructing project management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
69.
PackendorffJ.LindgrenM. (2014). Projectification and its consequences: Narrow and broad conceptualisations. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 17(1), 7–21.
70.
PrahaladC. K. (2012). Bottom of the pyramid as a source of breakthrough innovations. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(1), 6–12.
71.
RadjouN.PrabhuJ.AhujaS. (2012). Jugaad innovation: Think frugal, be flexible, generate breakthrough growth. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
72.
ReidS. E.de BrentaniU. (2004). The fuzzy front end of new product development for discontinuous innovations: A theoretical model. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21(3), 170–184.
73.
SchoperY.-G.WaldA.IngasonH. T.FridgeirssonT. V. (2018). Projectification in Western economies: A comparative study of Germany, Norway and Iceland. International Journal of Project Management, 36(1), 71–82.
74.
SchwartzE.TrigeorgisL. (2004). Real options and investment under uncertainty: Classical readings and recent contributions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
75.
SimpsonT. W.SiddiqueZ.JiaoJ. R. (2006). Platform-based product family development. In Product platform and product family design (pp. 1–15). New York, NY: Springer.
76.
TeasleyS.CoviL.KrishnanM. S.OlsonJ. S. (2000, December). How does radical collocation help a team succeed?Proceedings of the 2000 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, ACM, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 339–346.
77.
TrigeorgisL. (1996). Real options: Managerial flexibility and strategy in resource allocation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
78.
TushmanM. L.O’ReillyC. A.III. (1996). Ambidextrous organizations: Managing evolutionary and revolutionary change. California Management Review, 38, 8–29.
79.
von PechmannF.MidlerC.ManiakR.Charue-DubocF. (2015). Managing systemic and disruptive innovation: Lessons from the Renault Zero Emission Initiative. Industrial and Corporate Change, 24(3), 677–695.
80.
WeinmanJ. (2016). The economics and strategy of manufacturing and the cloud. IEEE Cloud Computing, 3(4), 6–11.
81.
WesterveldE. (2003). The Project Excellence Model®: Linking success criteria and critical success factors. International Journal of Project Management, 21(6), 411–418.
82.
WheelwrightS. C.ClarkK. B. (1992). Revolutionizing product development: Quantum leaps in speed, efficiency, and quality. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
83.
WhitleyR. (2006). Project-based firms: New organizational form or variations on a theme?Industrial and Corporate Change, 15(1), 77–99.
