BMO6622 MANAGING INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SEMESTER ONE, 2010 EXAMINATION Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Final Exam

Answer ANY two (2) questions out of the following three (3) questions.

Note: Although these questions ask for your opinion on certain matters, it is the
justification of your position based on the theoretical and practical issues examined in
this subject that will be taken into consideration in awarding marks. A range of topics
should be covered in your answers.

Time Allowed: 2 hours

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Question 1

“Explicit customer needs are traditionally sought by firms looking

for new innovative opportunities to commercialise. Lately many
successful companies seem to be also looking for opportunities that
satisfy observable, tacit and latent needs. In so doing, they are
embracing a range of new idea generating methods to complement
their traditional market research.”

Required: Outline at least two contemporary methods that

organisations are employing to source ideas for innovative
opportunities that seek to address customers’ unarticulated needs.
Describe the types of needs you believe these methods will
uncover. What are the major issues that management would need
to consider in implementing these different tools or techniques?
Which method do you believe would be more effective?

Question 2

According to Kim and Mauborgne, ‘value innovators’ embrace a

different strategic logic that starts with ‘an ambition to dominate
the market by offering a tremendous leap in value’.

Select an industry that a value innovator has successfully

penetrated. Explain the fundamental elements of their innovation.
In particular, highlight the major differences between the relative
offerings of the value innovator compared with another major

1
industry player. How easy will it be for competitors to match the
value innovator over time? Discuss.

Question 3

According to Peter Drucker: ‘…innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the

means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a
different service.’
Drucker, P. F., Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles,
Heinemann, London, 1985. p. 33

Select an innovation that you have studied this semester but not previously used in an
assessment task.

(a) Provide a detailed analysis of the key factors

that explain the success of this
innovation, and

(b) Identify what you believe are the five most important lessons that can be
learned from the above analysis that could be applied to new ventures or
opportunities.

End of Paper: 3 x 10 marks = 30 marks