Innovative product: technology and classification

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In modern conditions, innovation is an essential condition for improving the efficiency of enterprises. External factors are characterized by uncertainty and dynamism, and the development of companies is always accompanied by high risk. Meanwhile, the refusal to innovate can lead to quite serious negative consequences.

Relevance of the issue

The largest corporations in the world place special emphasis on innovative products and technologies in their work. At the same time, they are based on the fact that innovation is an inevitable phenomenon. Managing them is key to maintaining a high level of performance. The inability to apply the products of the innovation process reflects the inability of the company to adapt to external factors and often leads to bankruptcy.

Industry specific

The creation of an innovative product is a set of activities related to bringing a scientific and technical idea to a result,usable in practice. This work includes design operations, research, experimental procedures, development. The final stage is the implementation of the results of work on the markets of innovative products.

Historical background

Science, which studies the impact of innovations on the life of society and the development of the economy, appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. The first works on these issues were published by Kondratiev and Schumpeter. Innovative products and services became most in demand in the 40s of the last century. At that time, it became necessary to explain the factors of intensive economic growth in a number of countries without the use of significant amounts of capital and labor. Within the framework of the discipline, the position that scientific and technological shifts and the creation of innovations constantly accompany the development of the national economic complex has been confirmed.

Specific management

Issues related to the promotion of products are solved by innovative management. It is a set of principles, forms and methods of managing the work of enterprises engaged in this area and their personnel. The scope of distribution of management is constantly expanding. This is due to the ever-increasing demand for innovative products, which, in turn, stimulates the work on their creation.

Characteristic

The product of innovation can be used in a specific area or be universal. It may also be intendedfor internal use (within the organization) or act as a subject of turnover. An innovative product is seen primarily as the result of creative work. It is expressed in a certain subject, technology, method, etc. Innovation is also called the process of introducing elements, products, principles, methods, approaches to replace existing ones.

Key Features

Any innovative product acts as an object. It has its own consumer value, determined on the basis of scientific and technological achievements. The development of an innovative product is aimed at meeting public needs with a high level of beneficial effect. Here, the key property is not technical, but consumer characteristics. New innovative products are the results of human mental work. Accordingly, the share of the intellectual component in them is quite large. In practice, the problem often arises of assessing the significance of the result of mental labor, as well as its protection from unscrupulous users.

Nuance

Innovative product must be distinguished from invention. The latter also acts as a result of creative and mental work. However, in many cases it may remain unrealized. The invention will be considered as an innovative product only when it is in demand by consumers. The results of mental work should bring a real useful effect. Innovation is specifically focused on obtaining benefits through certainchanges in product, technology, socio-economic or managerial approach.

Classification

In practice, experts distinguish the following groups of innovations:

1. Technical. They represent new products and production methods.
2. Organizational and managerial. These include new approaches to the organization of activities and administration.
3. Social. They are forms of stimulation, training, educational work.

Technology is a set of means, operations, methods by which incoming production elements are transformed into outgoing ones. It covers tools, machines, equipment, knowledge, skills.

Levels

The novelty of a product is a set of properties that reflect the radical change in the object. It can exist at the level:

1. Businesses.
2. Specific market.
3. Global.

From the point of view of the manufacturer, an innovative product has a certain degree of novelty, which is reflected in the readiness of the enterprise for its release. This level can be expressed in the reduction of costs, the use of other materials, means, methods of organizing production and sale. In this case, the efficiency criteria can be an increase in profits, an increase in sales, leadership in trade. From the point of view of the buyer / user, the degree of novelty and effectiveness of the use of an innovative product is expressed inopportunities to meet new needs or old needs in a new way. For consumers, the product may not carry any previously unknown technical solutions. However, it will still be new.

Determining Factors

The degree of novelty has a direct relationship with the level of risk and the significance of management issues that are resolved when implementing a set of measures to create innovative products. Scientists identify the following factors that influence it:

1. Originality of ideas and R&D spending.
2. Marketing expenses.
3. OS refresh rate.
4. Rate of return.
5. Sales volume.

Influence on consumer behavior

Innovative products can not only satisfy existing needs, but also create new needs. The least disruptive effect on established patterns of behavior is provided by imitative products. They are modified models of pre-existing products. In some classifications, such products are defined as continuous innovations. They bring a fairly good profit, since they do not require significant costs and efforts to explain useful properties to consumers. There are also dynamically continuous innovations. As a rule, they do not change the established patterns of behavior of people who acquire and use them. However, they can be radically different from existing products.

Discontinuous innovations are also distinguished - completely new products that fundamentally changeexisting patterns of behavior. They are considered as basic, fundamental technologies. The result of their application is the formation of new industries, generations, activities. The American researcher Mensch found that technologies with such a significant impact on society appear during a period of economic depression. This thesis is confirmed by the emergence of major innovations in 1935-1945, as well as in 1970

In the depressive phase, the conditions of survival and the structure of needs undergo significant changes. During such a period, the previously existing technologies are useless. This, in turn, forces us to look for new solutions. In the depressive phase, the introduction of fundamental innovations becomes the only way to make a profitable investment and overcome the recession.

High Tech Criteria

Modern society is formed on the basis of the fifth wave. It is based on advanced achievements in the field of telecommunications and informatics. High technologies are distinguished by the accuracy of production, universal nature, and high knowledge intensity. Also, they are:

1. Based on major inventions and scientific discoveries.
2. Reduce product losses at intermediate stages of the technological cycle.
3. Have maximum consistency of components.
4. Combined with related technologies.
5. Require a minimum amount of resources, materials, labor, energy.
6. Eco-friendly.

Modern technologies are focused primarily on meeting personal needs. In this regard, the emphasis is on the social and economic side of innovative products.

Conclusion

Innovative product, the right to which is offered as part of a market exchange, has the general characteristics of consumer value, characteristic of traditional products. At the same time, it has significant differences from previous and existing product groups. First of all, they appear to a certain degree of novelty. Its presence allows the consumer to derive additional benefits from the application. Products that are outdated for one market can move to other trading platforms and remain new there for a certain period of time.

Today there are corporations whose main work is aimed at mastering previously unknown technologies and production methods. Their activities are accompanied by a thorough analysis of the consumer market, forecasting the development of demand.