Improving the innovation capability of Blackberry Assignment

Improving the innovation capability of Blackberry - Assignment Example This Canadian company decided to change its name to Blackberry as consumers were having a difficult time correlating the Blackberry name with Research in Motion. This trading name gives the Blackberry device a solid brand image associated with the company and its core values, which was a positive marketing decision made by the organisation. Between 2000 and 2007, Research in Motion had been the foremost pioneer in smartphone technology, being a pioneer in the technology industry. The market, at the time, did not provide consumers with a variety of options when it came to evolving mobile phone technology and, upon the launch of the Blackberry Pearl 8100, it was the only company that had a comparable offering, thus setting the product category for the industry. It was not until today’s leaders in smartphone technologies, such as Apple and Samsung, launched their first smartphone versions in the retail market that Blackberry began to quickly lose market share and also their reput ation for being an untouchable innovator in the industry. This essay describes how innovation is managed at Blackberry, how innovation projects are managed and carried out along the existing business model, and how culture supports or hinders innovation production at the firm. Findings are supported by both secondary and primary data, including an Internet chat interview with a representative from Blackberry, Christophe Lefort, general manager of Blackberry in France who agreed to participate in a 20 minute online interview. Strategy Unfortunately, Blackberry does not publicise its internal operational strategies and innovation efforts as this would deplete its publicized competitive advantages for a struggling organisation. In 2002, at the height of the business’ pinnacle as an innovator, the company experienced explosive sales volumes of its earliest Blackberry devices. By 2008, the company had become a cost leader, having launched multiple versions of the widely-accepted B lackberry device whilst reducing operating expenses, boasting a stock price of over $144 (Yahoo! Finance 2013). However, it quickly became apparent that Apple and Samsung, in 2008, had produced much more innovative smartphone devices, thus both companies seizing market share from Research in Motion and quickly gaining brand loyalty. By 2012, stock valuation in Research in Motion was less than $8 per share as the company struggled enormously to regain its footing as a pioneering leader. With a highly leveraged business model coupled with consumers that were quickly becoming entranced with the innovative technologies offered by Apple, Blackberry nearly approached bankruptcy. Therefore, the new business, Blackberry, would find considerable competitive danger by publicizing its internal efforts at innovation and strategy. It was just recently, in 2013, that Blackberry launched its latest Blackberry smartphone model which did find success in its target markets, thus providing the capital required for Blackberry to continue operating, to persevere as a publicly traded company, and determine the next innovation to save the company’s future. Having identified these limitations in available research, the current strategy for innovation as a survival methodology and to regain positive brand reputation can be explored, with assistance from the interview respondent. Prior to 2008, no representatives at then Research and Motion believed that they would lose their innovative competitive edge. Even industry experts believed that RIM would maintain its leadership position in the smartphone industry indefinitely which continued to push its stock prices ever higher with each news release about impending product developments. Essentially, Research in Motion