Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management

B. the reduction in the amount of inventory needed by manufacturing firms due to technological improvements in inventory management.

This research intends to explore innovation at an individual level, but in a context, where the roles and functions of an organization appear eminent either as a promoter or an inhibitor of innovation.

In this 21st century you rarely see monopoly situation in the business field. Competition helps to expand the business and create better quality as business always focus on creating a unique product or service for customers.

An oligopoly is the system this country needs. Since there are only a select few companies manufacturing a good there still is room for lower prices. But also there is inspiration for innovation. These companies consider their competitor’s actions when prices change and are required to follow to keep their share of the market. Automobile manufacturers are perfect examples of an oligopoly. The price for manufacturing is high, yet there is a specific standard and desire to innovate and come up with the best product on the market.

A monopoly exists when an organization produces and sells a good or services for which there are no close substitutes and other organizations are prevented by some type of entry barrier from entering the market (Thomas & Maurice, 2010). The entry or potential entry of a new organization into a market can gradually destroy the market power of existing organizations by increasing the number of substitutes (Thomas & Maurice, 2010). Therefore, an organization can have a high degree of market power only when strong barriers to the entry of new organizations exist (Thomas & Maurice, 2010). A strong barrier of entry exists when a new organization has difficulty entering a market were existing organizations are making a profit (Thomas & Maurice, 2010).

One reason that I feel this way is that without competition, there is no motivation to grow your company or to push yourself to be the best business possible. For example, if you don't have any competition, you will not have a need to better your company to its fullest potential because there will be nothing to pursue, such as new customers. Another reason that I feel this way is that if you have competition, this will give you incentive to market your company and get exposure for it. In conclusion, competition is the most important part of a market economy because it is they key to growing your business and getting exposure for your company and its

One of the oligopolistic behaviors is mergers. In 2010 Black+Decker merged with Stanley Works creating an increase in market control. In 2014 the company created a Innovation Team to develop new markets, new business models, breakthrough technology and industry shaping solutions. No matter what market structure a company falls under you will always need to take the good with the bad.

Sánchez, A., Lago, A., Ferràs, X., & Ribera, J (2011) Innovation Management Practices, Strategic Adaptation, and Business Results: Evidence from the Electronics Industry. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation; 2011, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p14-39. Retrieved from Ebscohost

6 SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 39 7. REFERENCES ........................................................................................... 41 BOOKS ...................................................................................................... 41 LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................... 44

The concept of competitive market can be explained by saying that there is a large number of firms competing each other with a large number of buyers, selling an identical product. There is also perfectly freedom to entry and to leave the industry.

Competition occurs in a free market economy where firms will endeavour to achieve business objectives which adapt according to interactions with consumers. These objectives are profits, sales or market share. Competition is essential for a properly functioning market as firms will be placed under competitive pressure to provide consumers with a comprehensive choice of goods and services at the most favourable prices.

Entrance of new firms to market affects competition. Industries possess characteristics that protect high profit levels of firm in the market and prevent additional rivals from entering market.

It can be said that there are many descriptions of the innovation process. Rothwell & Zegveld (1985) view innovation as a process of interaction between the firm and its environment. “The overall pattern of the innovation process can be thought of as a complex net of communication paths, both intra-organisational and extraorganisational, linking together the various in-house functions and linking the firm to the broader scientific and technological community and to the marketplace (p. 50)”. This indicates the importance of communication between the internal functions of a company and the knowledge of external parties.

Historically, most managers equated innovation primarily with the development of new technologies or products. However, innovation is increasingly seen as the development of new service offerings, business models, pricing plans, distribution channels, or management practices. There is a greater recognition that great ideas can transform any part of the value chain and those products and services represent just a small segment of innovation. This broadening of focus has implications for those who are responsible to innovate. It used to be just a selected group of employees, usually within R&D: designers, engineers or scientists, whose job was to generate and pursue new ideas. Nowadays, organizations are trying to induce an innovative culture across the hierarchy to achieve holistic transformations. Making innovation everyone’s business sounds intuitively appealing but is hard to implement. Employees face capacity issues, time constraints, and motivation issues that restrain them. There is often a lack of consistent follow-through of well-intentioned schemes. Additionally, there is typically some level of disconnection between the priorities of senior management and the efforts of those lower down in the organization. This becomes more evident in large corporations where established processes are already in place and leave very little room to innovate.

Most of the businesses operate in competitive markets: businesses have to take on and see of rivals or competitors.ALDI, a