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The word 'Innovation' has been taken from Latin word 'Innovare' which means 'to renew'. But innovation means different things to different people. For some, it's creativity, and for others, it's just doing the same things in a different manner. But there is something central that all believe and that is innovation must add some value.
More the value addition, better is the innovation.

Innovation is a broad concept, and so we would focus on product innovation in this paper. Products, as we know them, are not the same as they used to be. They have gone through incredible changes. In fact, everything has been changing. The products, the consumers, the markets, prices, and everything else under the sun, have changed, or perhaps, I should write, evolved. Evolution is a by-product of invention and innovation, hence, innovation plays a crucial role in it.

But why innovate? Well, there could be myriad answers to the question. For example, staying ahead in the competitive market, seek growth, strategic compulsion, or it could be anything. What is worth understanding is that products serve vital purpose. They satisfy needs. And product innovations either satisfy some latent needs or simply create them. Companies like 3M and Apple have been successful due to their ability to satisfy some latent need of the consumers.

First instinct of any corporation is survival. In this fast changing world, innovation has become indispensable, even for survival, leave alone for improved profitability or growth. Window of time available for companies to survive with a 'innovation free dry period' is becoming lower and lower. Shortening life cycle of products is becoming all pervasive. From tooth-brushes to mobile phones, from toys to automobiles, and from movies to cricket; all of them have short life cycles today. Thanks to the consumers, they do not want to sit through entire day (forget five days) for a cricket match. They want more in less time. Better products with lesser money.

So is there a formula to successful product innovation? Perhaps, the answer is - No. But there is something universal about the companies that have been pioneers of product innovation and that is - their Culture. They have a culture that foster innovative ideas from their employees. They are not penalized for failures. There's a sense of mutual support and lot of top management involvement. In fact, the role of management is central to successful product innovation. And of course, a lot of thinking goes into the entire process!

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* Contributed by: -
Prof. A. K. Mitra is Faculty at ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon, and also serving as Associate Dean & Coordinator, Strategic Management & Chairman of Information Resource at the institute.
Saikat Dey is currently pursuing MBA from ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon.