The Dynamics of Innovation

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XII

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2. Strategic dynamics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Managing through industry fusion

      • Paul Bierly, Alok K. Chakrabarti

      Pages 3-26

   3. Dynamics of technological competencies

      • Klaus Brockhoff

      Pages 27-51

   4. Organizational adaptation and innovation: The dynamics of adopting innovation types

      • Fariborz Damanpour, Shanthi Gopalakrishnan

      Pages 53-80

   5. Strategic dynamics and corporate performance: A longitudinal assessment

      • Jens Leker

      Pages 81-101

   6. Evaluation of dynamic technological developments by means of patent data

      • Holger Ernst

      Pages 103-132

   7. Innovation objectives, managerial education and firm performance — an exploratory analysis

      • Dietmar Harhoff

      Pages 133-160

3. Dynamics in project management

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 161-161

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   2. Promotors and champions in innovations — development of a research paradigm

      • Jürgen Hauschildt

      Pages 163-182

   3. A longitudinal examination of how champions influence others to support their projects

      • Stephen K. Markham

      Pages 183-212

   4. Opposition to innovations — destructive or constructive?

      • Jürgen Hauschildt

      Pages 213-236

   5. Starting conditions of successful European R&D consortia

      • Hans Georg Gemünden, Martin Högl, Thomas Lechler, Alexandre Saad

      Pages 237-275

   6. Concurrent development and product innovations

      • Eric H. Kessler, Alok K. Chakrabarti

      Pages 277-299

   7. Patterns in high-impact innovation

      • George F. Farris

      Pages 301-319

4. Back Matter

   Pages 321-349

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Jorg Bensinger, a group head of Audi corporation's R&D depart­ ment, had been waiting for long to find a chance to advertise his idea of a four-wheel drive for passenger cars to one of the board mem­ bers. Favorable experiences had been collected in drive tests with the lItis, a jeep-like car developed for use in the German army. The ex­ periences showed extremely good performance on icy roads and in snow. Bensinger's chance came in February of 1977, when he could talk to Ferdinand Piech, then R&D vice president of Audi and a technology buff. At this time Audi wasn't quite considered as a tech­ nological leader in the public. Technology based innovations were expected from Mercedes or Porsche by many customers. Piech, Ben­ singer, and others sensed that introducing the four-wheel drive to passenger cars could initiate a strategic change. Under great secrecy development work and prototype construction were commissioned. One obstacle seemed to be space requirements for the gear-box. Hans Nedvidek, former race-track engineer in the Mercedes team, was assigned to the team, and he developed an ingenious solution to the problem. It took until September of 1977 until other board mem­ bers were informed, and after some rallying the board found a con­ sensus in the next month to authorize further development steps for a four-wheel drive car. However, Audi is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Corp. The accord of the much bigger mother had to be secured.

• Patent
• development
• environment
• innovation
• management
• organization

• Institute of Research in Innovation Management, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

  Klaus Brockhoff, Jürgen Hauschildt

• New Jersey Institute of Technology, School of Management, University Heights, Newark, USA

  Alok K. Chakrabarti

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