Reinventing the Wheel: Contextualizing Existing Innovations as a Path to Market Success

Abstract

In the quest to create cutting-edge products, organizations often invest substantial time, attention, and capital in primary research and development (R&D). By themselves, these R&D investments to create avant-garde products may not provide good return-on-investment. In the context of Canadian businesses, there is a significant scarcity of resources available for R&D. What can Canadian firms do to stay innovative when they face a plethora of difficulties, including insufficient funding? This article explores how organizations can leverage external innovation and existing technologies to create products or services that cater to the market needs. We present a three-pillar model along with examples of companies that attained market success in large part by contextualizing existing technologies in order to create innovative products or services. This approach provides companies with a high-level framework to facilitate resource-parsimonious creation of commercializable, innovative products that are competitive in today’s global marketplace.

Keywords

• commercialization
• contextualization of innovation
• Innovation management
• market-focused innovation
• organization