Question 1

A creative work environment requires organizational encouragement and supervisory encouragement as well as work group encouragement.

Accepted Answer

A creative work environment involves multiple factors, including support and encouragement from different levels within the organization (such as management and workgroups). Therefore, all three forms of encouragement are important for creating a successful creative work environment.

Question 2

Declaring victory too soon is one of the mistakes managers often make in the refreezing stage of change.

Accepted Answer

Declaring victory too soon can lead to resistance and setbacks in the refreezing stage of change. It is important to keep reinforcing the change and continuously monitor progress before declaring victory.

Question 3

The same techniques for managing innovation work equally as well after technological discontinuities as during periods of incremental change.

Accepted Answer

What works well when managing innovation after technological discontinuities doesn't work well when managing innovation during periods of incremental change (and vice versa).

Question 4

Organizational innovation is defined as "doing things differently" inside an organization.

Accepted Answer

Organizational innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas in an organization.

Question 5

Dominant designs emerge because they solve a practical problem, are a result of the negotiations of independent standards bodies, or because of critical mass.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Dominant designs, which refer to a prevalent design or technology in a particular market or industry, often emerge because they effectively solve a practical problem, gain support from independent standards bodies, or reach critical mass due to widespread adoption.

Question 6

Technological discontinuities are followed by discontinuous change characterized by technological substitution and design competition.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Technological discontinuities refer to major shifts in technology that disrupt and replace previous technologies. This results in discontinuous change, where new technologies compete to become the dominant design.

Question 7

Fully functional change occurs when incremental improvements are made to a dominant technological design. In a fully functional change, the improved version of the technology is fully backward compatible with the older version.

Accepted Answer

Generational change occurs when incremental improvements are made to a dominant technological design so that the improved version of the technology is fully backward compatible with the older version.

Question 8

The three parts of the experiential approach to innovation are design iterations, testing, and milestones.

Accepted Answer

There are five parts to the experiential approach to innovation: design iterations, testing, milestones, multifunctional teams, and powerful leaders.

Question 9

Nearly all technology cycles follow a bell-shaped pattern of innovation.

Accepted Answer

Nearly all technology cycles follow a typical S-curve pattern of innovation.

Question 10

Innovation streams are patterns of innovation over time that can create sustainable competitive advantage.

Accepted Answer

Innovations streams are a set of innovations that are related to each other and emerge over time. These innovation streams can create sustainable competitive advantage for an organization. By developing and delivering a series of related products, firms can establish themselves as leaders in a particular technology or market segment. Therefore, innovation streams are a key element in achieving sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 11

Even though education and communication, participation, negotiation, top management support, and coercion can all be used to manage resistance to change, coercion should be used only in a crisis or as a last resort.

Accepted Answer

Coercion should not be the go-to approach for managing resistance to change, as it can lead to negative consequences such as decreased morale and productivity. Instead, other methods such as education and communication, participation, negotiation, and top management support should be utilized first. Coercion should only be used in extreme situations where there is a crisis or as a last resort.

Question 12

Companies that want to sustain a competitive advantage must understand and protect themselves from the strategic threats of innovation.

Accepted Answer

Innovation can create disruptive changes in the industry, thereby posing a strategic threat to companies that do not have the capability to adapt or embrace new ideas. To sustain a competitive advantage, companies must understand and safeguard themselves from the potential impact of innovation.

Question 13

Technological innovation not only makes it possible to duplicate the benefits obtained from a company's distinctive advantage but also quickly creates an opportunity to turn a company's competitive advantage into a competitive disadvantage.

Accepted Answer

Technological innovation allows competitors to duplicate a company's distinctive advantage and potentially improve upon it, thereby eroding the original company's competitive advantage. This can lead to a shift in the market and a loss of market share for the original company.

Question 14

A technology cycle begins with the birth of a new technology and ends when that technology reaches its limits and dies; it is then replaced by newer, substantially better technology.

Accepted Answer

This is the basic concept of a technology cycle. Technologies constantly evolve and improve, eventually reaching their peak before being replaced by newer, better technologies.

Question 15

An innovation stream begins with a technological discontinuity, which is a scientific advance or a unique combination of existing technologies creating a significant breakthrough in performance or function.

Accepted Answer

An innovation stream does indeed start with a technological discontinuity, as explained in the statement.

Question 16

Resistance to change usually results from organizational factors: such as the absence of promotion guidelines, bonuses, and praise.

Accepted Answer

Resistance to change results from personal factors such as self-interest, misunderstanding and distrust, and a general intolerance for change.

Question 17

According to Kurt Lewin, managing organizational change is a simple process that requires organizational dialogue, change intervention, and reformatting.

Accepted Answer

According to Kurt Lewin, managing organizational change is a basic process of unfreezing, change intervention, and refreezing.

Question 18

Milestones are formal review points that tend to lengthen the innovation process.

Accepted Answer

Milestones are formal review points that shorten the innovation process.

Question 19

The typical S-curve pattern of innovation indicates that both early and late in the technology cycle, increased effort (i.e., money, research and development) brings only small improvements in technological performance.

Accepted Answer

This is because at the early stages of the technology cycle, there is low-hanging fruit and easy improvements can be made quickly. As the technology becomes more advanced, it becomes harder and requires more effort to make improvements. Eventually, the returns on investment diminish and a plateau is reached where significant improvements can no longer be achieved despite increased effort.

Question 20

Technology cycles for low-tech products follow the typical U-curve pattern cycle of innovation.

Accepted Answer

All technology cycles typically follow an S-curve pattern of innovation.

Quiz 7: Innovation and Change