1st Edition

Interactive Business Communities Accelerating Corporate Innovation through Boundary Networks

By Mitsuru Kodama Copyright 2011
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    Innovation in technology and services was once the result of specialist knowledge developed within a single corporation; now, a single focus on the development of new products and services is no longer enough. In Interactive Business Communities, Mitsuru Kodama shows how a new business approach can enable managers to access, share and integrate diverse knowledge both inside and outside the corporation using Boundary Networks to operate across more formal organizational and knowledge boundaries at all levels. Drawing on his studies of large corporations in America and the Far East, Mitsuru, shows how different companies have already started to take this path. He explains the kind of networks and strategic partnerships that have emerged and gives practical guidelines on how to begin forming in-house business communities and extending this to interactive business communities with customers and other organizations. This book is a valuable resource for business educators and researchers, and senior executives responsible for strategy, particularly in high-tech industries, will find insights and ideas to tackle 21st century market and business discontinuities.

    Contents: Preface: the era of convergence and collaboration; Part 1 Background and Theoretical Framework: Convergence and collaboration; Boundary vision and interactive business communities. Part 2 In-Depth Case Studies: Co-creation and co-evolution models through platform business innovations - ICT industry cases; Hybrid innovation in the semiconductor industry; Chunghwa Telecom's hybrid innovation; HTC's strategy transformation - strategies for building a company brand; Technology integration through boundary vision. Part 3 Discussion and Conclusion: IBC and boundary networks lead the way to innovation; Conclusions - creating knowledge integration firms; References; Index.

    Biography

    Mitsuru Kodama is Professor of Innovation and Technology Management in the College of Commerce and Graduate School of Business Administration at Nihon University, Japan. Prior to joining the University he worked in marketing and as a planning engineer at KDD, NTT and NTT DoCoMo in Japan. He holds a BSc., an MSc. and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Waseda University, Japan. Professor Kodama has written seven books and over eighty refereed papers on business and management topics. He has received R&D 100 Awards in US and three Emerald Highly Commended Awards for his contributions to journals in the USA and Europe and he sits on several editorial boards.

    'Using detailed case studies, Interactive Business Communities discusses the theory of, and demonstrates various real applications of knowledge creating activities in the interactive business communities that characterize modern corporate innovation management. The book presents new and creative business model concepts called Hybrid Innovation, Boundary Vision and Boundary Networks, and provides both business practitioners and academics with valuable new insights.' Tomoatsu Shibata, Professor Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University