In this session Dr. Hamsa Thota conducts case study of a SME, in mature phase of its lifecycle that prepared for its future with a clear strategy and compelling organizational goals. The industry in which the SME competed is characterized by fragmentation, is not known for innovation; and is besieged by cheap foreign imports. Utilization of key concepts in innovation such as the lifecycle, categories of innovation projects, new product development strategy, product innovation charter, resource allocation in a balanced portfolio of innovation projects (portfolio management), and development of new product development teams enabled the SME to realize its future. Learning from the case study is generalized in a systematic approach for innovation such as the Thota framework for innovation. Participants gain knowledge to customize and implement a systematic approach for innovation towards achieving new product/innovation success rates similar to those achieved by the SME in the case study.
Key concepts in innovation to achieve SME success: a case study
Relator: Dr. Hamsa Thota
President, Innovation Business Development (IBD), INC., USADr. Hamsa Thota is the Founder and President of Innovation Business Development Inc., (IBD) a product innovation management performance consulting and training company in the USA. He was the past president and chairman of the Product Development and Management Association (2005-2006). In 2005-2010, Dr. Thota consulted with more than 50 Chinese companies as an international expert on innovation at the invitation of Science & Technology Agencies of local Chinese governments. In 2011, Dr. Thota was a visiting Professor at the Management School of the Zhejiang University in China and co-authored “Key Concepts in Innovation” published by Palgrave Macmillan (London and New York). He is an honorary professor at the Geely Automobile Engineering Institute, China. Dr. Thota was a Senior Fellow at the Kellogg Innovation Network, Northwestern University (2004-2011) and a member of the US National Innovation Initiative Strategy Council of the US Council on Competitiveness (2006-2007). He is an advisor to the Art of Learning, a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research project to improve STEM education with Arts based curriculum (2012-2016). Dr. Thota is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (1971) and the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. He holds a Ph.D. in Food Science and Dairy Manufacturing from the University of Georgia (1976). During the 80’s, he studied technology management at the MIT, new product introduction at the Wharton Business School, and negotiation at Harvard.
