CATALYZING INNOVATIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

'This book competently demonstrates the full potential of effective innovation governance and outlines what Innovation Leaders need to know and do in order to make innovation work.'

What is innovation and what does it take to make it work? How can innovation management and governance help to create and capture new value towards a sustainable future?

This reader contains several 'op-eds' (op-ed = short for 'opposite the editorial page') on innovation management and urban sustainability matters written between 2012 and 2021 for Singapore-based print media aimed at providing interested readers with deeper insights into key enablers of effective innovation governance at corporate levels. The bite-sized commentaries on innovation matters are loosely structured with regards to Leadership & Strategy, People & Organisational Culture, Innovation Processes, Knowledge & Learning as well as Innovation Governance. Besides three case studies of innovation award winners (Singapore Airlines; National Library Board Singapore; Qian Hu Corporation Ltd.), the book also entails reflections about the 'smart city' strategies of Singapore, Berlin (Germany) and Barcelona (Spain) aimed at enhancing sustainability and liveability.

This resource book is essential reading for anyone interested in acquiring innovation management and governance know how — from graduate students and advanced undergraduates to innovation practitioners in business and society as well as start-up founders and municipal leaders.

Contents:

• Introduction: Catalyzing Innovations for a Sustainable Future
• Smart Singapore
• Leadership & Strategy:
  • The Impact of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Innovation Outcomes
  • Case Study: Singapore Airlines — How Do Innovators Stay Innovative? A Longitudinal Case Analysis
• People & Culture
• Innovation Processes:
  • Case Study: National Library Board Singapore — World-Class Service Through Innovation and People Centricity
• Knowledge & Learning
• Innovation Governance:
  • Innovation Governance in Chinese Family Business: Case Study
• Sustainable Smart City:
  • Drones over Singaporean Heritage Sites: Exploring the Potential of Small UAVs (Drones) for Educational Smart City Projects and Heritage Preservation
• Enabling Singapore's Youths to Adapt in an Era of Climate Change

Readership: People working in or researching on Innovation, Management, Governance, Sustainability, Climate Change, Leadership, Strategy, Processes, Knowledge, Learning, Knowledge Management.

'The world's innovation landscape is rapidly changing. Singapore Airlines' new start-up-style internal incubator KrisLab, Tencent's multipurpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app WeChat, or Indonesia's technology unicorn Gojek underscore Asia's growing innovation potential. Beyond any doubt, innovation will be a major driver of future economic growth in the region. In a world marked by disruptive innovation and unsustainable business practices, there is an urgent need for corporate innovators to manage effectively sustainable value creation and value capture to seize the multiple opportunities associated with economic, environmental, and social developments. To meet these challenges, several innovation management capabilities are required — ranging from the development of new business ideas and models to mastering digital tools and successfully delivering one's unique value proposition to local and international customers. This new book by Thomas Menkhoff skilfully addresses key innovation challenges and outlines what business leaders can do to overcome them with regard to innovation strategy, people & organisational culture, innovation processes, knowledge & learning, as well as innovation governance. The book also features three interesting case studies: Singapore Airlines, National Library Board, and Qian Hu. They will help the reader to appreciate and comprehend how these budding innovation award winners managed to overcome innovation barriers in order to foster and sustain their competitiveness.' - Arnoud DE MEYERUniversity ProfessorLee Kong Chian School of BusinessSingapore Management University (SMU)

'The COVID–19 pandemic continues to disrupt both small and big businesses in unanticipated ways. The search is on for new and more sustainable business models aimed at creating, delivering, and capturing value. To effectively deal with contemporary VUCA (short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) challenges requires competent responses from business leaders such as asking questions that challenge common wisdom, risk taking, or active experimentation by testing new ideas via prototypes and launching pilots. What distinguishes innovation leaders from mediocre managers is the capability to recognize and exploit new entrepreneurial opportunities. Whether one categorises this competency as 'Entrepreneurial Leadership', 'Transformational Leadership', or 'Innovation Leadership' is for academics to debate. What matters in terms of successful innovation practice is that innovation leaders facilitate the entire innovation process from strategic ideation to bringing newly created products and services to market. This book competently demonstrates the full potential of effective innovation governance and outlines what Innovation Leaders need to know and do in order to make innovation work.' - Howard THOMASProfessor Emeritus of Strategic Management and Management EducationSingapore Management University (SMU)