Publications
Publications
- July–August 2024
- Harvard Business Review
The Middle Path to Innovation
By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Duke Rohlen, Ben Creo and Will Kynes
Abstract
Too many companies are failing to innovate. One reason, say the authors, is the polarized approach companies take to innovation. At one end of the spectrum, corporate R&D efforts tend to focus on product refreshes and incremental line upgrades that generate modest growth for lower risk. At the other end, venture capitalists favor high-risk “transformational” innovations that seek to upend industries and generate outsize returns. But there’s a better, middle, way.
This article presents the growth driver model, a framework that partners corporations with outside investors to identify and develop innovation opportunities, drawing on corporate resources and talent and externally recruited entrepreneurs. The authors illustrate the model with a detailed case study of how it revived innovation at Cordis, a large medical technology device maker. They also illustrate its applicability to other sectors, such as the movie and defense industries.
This article presents the growth driver model, a framework that partners corporations with outside investors to identify and develop innovation opportunities, drawing on corporate resources and talent and externally recruited entrepreneurs. The authors illustrate the model with a detailed case study of how it revived innovation at Cordis, a large medical technology device maker. They also illustrate its applicability to other sectors, such as the movie and defense industries.
Keywords
Citation
Herzlinger, Regina E., Duke Rohlen, Ben Creo, and Will Kynes. "The Middle Path to Innovation." Harvard Business Review 102, no. 4 (July–August 2024): 134–145.