Imitative innovation strategies: Understanding resource management of competent followers

摘要

Purpose - Imitative innovation, defined as applying innovation in the same way in another organization, has been adopted by many companies. This paper seeks to focus on how a competent follower of R&D capability can employ such an innovative strategy and minimize risk by using existing organizational resources to enhance innovation capabilities.rnDesign/methodology/approach - An in-depth case study is applied of resource management experience at a Taiwanese optical storage media manufacturing outlet and then the Sirmon resource management model is extended to offer a process model for imitative innovation capability development.rnFindings - The imitative innovation process is deconstructed into four phases and three main sub-processes for effective resource management, namely, structuring, bundling and leveraging activities. The study also found that there are four modes of effective resource management for a successful imitative innovation process: identifying position and confirming innovation strategy; examining core competences and exploring gaps in imitative innovation; deploying specific resources and complementary assets; and restructuring an industry's ecological environment. Originality/value - The study offers researchers and practitioners a more detailed view of applicable resource management for successful imitative innovation.