Google glass: Types of innovation, the origin of innovation, and entrepreneur definition

Nội dung text: Google glass: Types of innovation, the origin of innovation, and entrepreneur definition

1. No.19_Sep 2020|Số 19 – Tháng 12 năm 2020|p.129-134 TẠP CHÍ KHOA HỌC ĐẠI HỌC TÂN TRÀO ISSN: 2354 - 1431 GOOGLE GLASS: TYPES OF INNOVATION, THE ORIGIN OF INNOVATION, AND ENTREPRENEUR DEFINITION Ta Thi Luong1,2,* 1Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia 2Technology Incubation and Startup Support Center, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Thai Nguyen University, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam * Email: thi.ta@uqconnect.edu.au Article info Abstract: Google Glass is a prime example to learn how innovation is created and Recieved: commercialized. More notably, learning from the making decision or acts of 28/08/2020 Google’s expert entrepreneurs is invaluable on the journey to become future entrepreneurs and innovators. Therefore, this article will discuss types of Accepted: innovation matching Google Glass, entrepreneurial approaches to create 10/12/2020 Google Glass, and the definition of an entrepreneur. Note that every explanation will be based on the Google Glass case study and evidence from scientific research. Keywords: Google Glass; innovation; entrepreneurship; case study; research. Introduction Google Glass is a meaningful case study in Methodology entrepreneurship and innovation. More specifically, To conduct this study, social websites and other Google Glass includes much knowledge about media means, including videos and blog posts will creating innovation and managing innovation [1]. be useful sources to collect data about Google Furthermore, it provides many lessons learned for Glass. The primary key words, including Google entrepreneurs and managers about managing the Glass and innovation are utilized to search about innovation process, and commercialization, such as the Google Glass case study. The article also uses the response of market users [2] to Google Glass journal articles on the innovation theories by and the importance of consumer behavior to Google Norman and Verganti (2014), Schumpeter (1934); Glass’s success on the market [3]. Therefore, this Sarasvathy (2001), Alvarez and Barney (2007) and study will examine innovation types of Google Gartner (1989) to explain the Google Glass’s types Glass and its origin of idea to understand how of innovation and its innovation origin. Google entrepreneurs make the decision on innovation strategy. Besides, a further Furthermore, the lecturer’s lessons in the course of understanding of entrepreneur definition will be Idea Management, Master of Entrepreneurship and discussed accordingly. Innovation, the University of Queensland will also 131
2. T.T.Luong/ No.19_Dec 2020|p.129-134 be employed to support the findings on the The scenario for the second version of Google entrepreneur's definition. Glass named Enterprise is entirely different, which Discussion: The case of Google Glass transforms the Google Glass's situation into corporate customer’s must-have gadget. The Types of Innovation success can be attributed to the flexible and smooth The first part of the paper will discuss the combination of types of innovation Google applied. classifications of innovation that Google pursued. Instead of innovating the product, Google The first version, the Google Glass Explorer, was a innovated Google Glass's market as the first step. radical innovation that meets three criteria of More importantly, market innovation enabled radical innovation (Dahlin and Behrens, cited in Google's organizational innovation to promote Norman and Verganti, 2014). It includes novel and product innovation (Schumpeter and OECD, cited unique characters which are dissimilar from prior or in Schmidley, 2020). From identifying new targeted current products, such as a phone, a computer or markets of workers from small to large corporations camera in the market, and it is socially approved thanks to the observation and conversation with and accepted by customers at the early stage of several corporate customers, Google idealized launching. Nevertheless, Google is not an inventor another version of Google Glass to meet this of the glass or functions of cameras, or phones, market. Subsequently, a new team was established such as searching, recording, and using voice with the name of "Glass at Work" (GaW), gathering commands, because those inventions were already experienced engineers to improve the product based invented. The evidence for its novelty and on the first version, Google Glass Explorer. Before uniqueness is that Google patented about six officially launching on the new market, Google inventions related to the wearable glass and secretly spent two years to create new prototypes, software integrated into the Explorer. Most test and improve the product in some selected importantly, Google creatively integrated the corporates. During the testing period, Google Glass existing technologies in a new format (glass) to Enterprise undergone incremental innovations [4] create the Explorer as a real product, an innovation, related to design upgrades to create improved not just an invention itself. People accepted the versions for the target market. As a result, at the Explorer, wear on their eyes, and use the functions time of launching, Google and Google Glass re- of a camera or a phone with free hands. gained its reputation and confidence in the market What classifies the Explore’s types of radical and succeeded. innovation is based on the driver (the meaning of Although the Enterprise is remaining as a usefulness or technology). Google Glass belongs to dominant design, there are challenges to Google “technology epiphanies” [4,p.90] in which Google Glass when in the current smart eyewear market, leveraged the glass and software-related existing many competitors are competing with typical Intel technologies to transform the mainstream and Apple. More than that, smart contact lenses customer's use purpose of accessing digital might be one breakthrough as a disruptive information because the mainstream customers do innovation that might replace Google Glass in the not have this purpose of using such a smart eyewear market. However, this has remained unknown gadget when phones, computers, and cameras are uncertainty. handy. However, due to the only focus on product The origin of Innovation development without searching for when and where to use this device, the reaction of non-tech lovers, Regarding the origin of Google Glass idea, and especially social issues related to personal Google flexibly combined the discovery approach privacy and safety for health, the first version was and creative approach. In particular, Google soon be rejected by both users and non-users after inclines to harness the discovery approach and two years of launching. It explains that only causal reasoning more [5]. focusing on the product innovation while being Google harnessed the external changes or used ready to launch to the market without much the discovery approach to create a new idea for the understanding the market proposition, resulted in Explorer. Referring to the environmental context, failure. touching interfaces, gestures, voice to control, and 132
3. T.T.Luong/ No.19_Dec 2020|p.129-134 augmented reality were popular in smartphones, effort, and money. It is noted that the many types of computers, and games. Moreover, the social trend customers, including fashion designers, athletes, of using tech devices was everywhere, with many journalists, and doctors, used the Explorer in their tech lovers who were willing to try new things, but professional work rather than in their daily it was not the same that the mainstream customers activities. If Google had not assumed about the had known the purpose of using wearable devices. target market, each customer type above would However, there was an exception for several have been the Explorer's separate market. It means corporations who used augmented reality helmets, a Google had not leveraged those opportunities and type of wearable and hand-free format, to deal with eventually turned the Explorer into a bad scenario. the working tasks in the manufacturing industry. It Explaining the Explorer’s failure can be means that the trend of technology application in attributed to wrongly reasoning the target market as working was currently existing to meet the everyone that was too big to serve. Furthermore, increasing demand for the production efficiency Google skipped the critical step of collecting data and effectiveness. This trend showed one huge related to why the users use the device, how they existing opportunity for devices like Google Glass. use it, when, and where they use it, thereby Google intended to create a more convenient device anticipating related issues and having the plan to for the users. Unfortunately, Google had not solve. The evidence is that when launching the discovered this opportunity before having an idea second version of Explorer with many flaws and for Google Glass until launching the Enterprise. As negative feedback from users, Google made a list of mentioned in the work by Alvarez and Barney do's and don'ts, but not sufficient to solve the (2007) on the discovery theory, Google's inability problems. Instead of making incremental to discover the opportunity could not deny the improvements for the product and coping with the existence of the opportunity. social issues, Google stopped the production and In the next step, Google inclined to apply the distribution of the Explorer version. discovery approach for the Explorer rather than a Regarding the second generation of Google creative approach and effectual reasoning. Firstly, Glass, the Enterprise, Google tended to use the Google had a plan for producing, testing, and creative approach (Alvarez and Barney, 2007) and selling the Explorer. Google, however, did not the effectual reasoning [6] successfully from the assess the outcome of the plan. With Google's step of collecting the market data. Firstly, Google assumption on the target market of masses of exploited the corporate customer's preference in customers, Google focused on producing the using the Explorer. Then, Google tried to examine product. After secretly making a prototype of the how and why they use the products by Explorer in the Company X, Google launched this communicating directly with them. After that, they product to market by selling at the price of planned to create the Enterprise that was utterly US$1,500, but the aim was to test the prototype and different from the Explorer to meet the corporate's collect the user's feedback. Apart from enhancing needs, such as making design improvements and the promotion of the Explorer through campaigns, addressing the privacy issues and then secretly Google upgraded the Explorer into the second delivered to the selected enterprises to test and get version to satisfy the customer's needs. However, feedback before launching. Google failed at selling the Explorer at the market Thanks to applying the effectual process, when eventually. talking with some enterprises using the Explorer, Secondly, although the adverse scenario Google identified the potential markets, including happened to the Explorer, the way to launch the logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Explorer to the mainstream market was creative and It means Google discovered more than one goal for employed a part of the principle of effectual its development direction. Besides, the effectual reasoning named the affordable loss principle [6]. principle, including the principle of partnership and Google sold the prototype to test the market and the leveraging contingencies, was exploited at the collect the customer's data instead of doing development stage of the Enterprise. Google had conventional market research that often took time, not assumed anything related to competitors, just 133
4. T.T.Luong/ No.19_Dec 2020|p.129-134 discovered them when developing the product. entrepreneur is a vague and ambiguous approach, Google were not not alone in satisfying the defined and not leading to the nature of entrepreneurs. Most market. Instead of having a competitive strategy, importantly, based on Garner’s behavioral Google built a partnership strategy to turn the star- approach, an entrepreneur is measured and up competitors into Google’s solution partners qualified by his do-ability. In other words, an called “Glass Partners”. As a result, this helped entrepreneur is a doer, not just a thinker. Google remain and sustain in the market and Furthermore, being an entrepreneur is a role in the enhanced market opportunity (more than fifteen business journey so that anyone can take the role, solution partners and 100 companies). or anyone can learn and be trained to take the role. The Enterprise’s success was attributed to the However, one limited aspect of Garner’s definition flexible application of the entrepreneurial methods is that an entrepreneur creates a new venture, which and the leverage of the firm's resources, based on did not give a final and thoughtful answer to the the work [7]. Google made use of the firm's purpose of a newly created organization by an sources, especially human resources, to sustain its entrepreneur to create value for customers. Thus, competitive advantage. Apart from harnessing [12] Schmidley (2020) explained that entrepreneur intellectual property assets like patents-related is attributed by his or her ability to commercialize product design or applicable software, Google innovative ideas in the market to create values for gathered an elite and talented group of technical customers. Therefore, an entrepreneur is a crucial engineers and a super innovative company X where part of value creation, not just a venture creation is considered an ideal place for innovative ideas. based on Garner’s definition. As a result, an Besides, Google took advantage of a network of entrepreneur can be anyone who possesses the do- experienced engineers possessing high expertise in ability in any organizations, even social the tech industry and the partnership with many entrepreneurship organizations and takes part in the large corporations in diverse fields. Google process of value creation for customers. allocated and collaborated those resources during One vital piece of learning is differentiating an the development process of Enterprise. Most entrepreneur and a non-entrepreneur through importantly, building and managing the relationship reading the article by Sarasvathy (2001) and the ten with those partners to gain a mutual goal of creating myths of Entrepreneurship [13]. The critical thing and harnessing an innovative product to satisfy the to make entrepreneur entrepreneurship is applying defined market is the key to success. Therefore, the effectual logic and the entrepreneurship method. regarding Google’s ecosystem or value chain, The center of effectual logic is how entrepreneurs Google, a focal firm successfully manages its tech treat the future as opportunities they can create, not ecosystem and its value chain to commercialize predict, thereby controlling the future (uncertainty). Google Glass to the market. Therefore, the entrepreneur’s acts and actions are A further understanding of entrepreneur much more critical in creating the future. The definition Entrepreneurship method is a useful tool for entrepreneurs to create future opportunities in Entrepreneurs plays an primary roles in creating which the effectual reasoning process and principle and commercializing innovation to the market [8]. are the main things. More importantly, the Understanding the entrepreneur definition is entrepreneurship method is to contribute to the essential in building individual innovation entrepreneur’s learning journey to success. On the capabilities. Some advocated the entrepreneur way to creating innovative ideas, entrepreneurs definition based on an entrepreneur’s employ their means (abilities, knowledge, and characteristics, including uncertainty bearers [9] networks, Sarasvathy, (2001)). If the failure (loss) and the need for achievement and creativity [10]. happens, which means to enrich and consolidate the However, an entrepreneur definition using entrepreneur’s means and to discover more entrepreneur’s personal traits does not sufficiently goals/opportunities (HSGUniSTGallen, 2012), so differentiate an entrepreneur and a non- the future becomes more explicit in their hand. entrepreneur [11]. Gartner (1988) persuaded that traits or personalities are used to define an 134
5. T.T.Luong/ No.19_Dec 2020|p.129-134 Referring to Google Glass case study, the and Google Glass Innovation. Journal of Innovation process of creating and introducing the Google Management, 1(1), 38-54. Glass to the market was undertaken by many staff. Those staff played a role of entrepreneurs who 4. Norman, D. A., & Verganti, R. (2014). contributed their means (knowledge, skills Incremental and radical innovation: Design research expertise, and network) to produce Google Glass vs. technology and meaning change. Design without any clearly mentioned personal traits. Their issues, 30(1), 78-96. do-ability and making decision on innovation strategy contributed to the Google Glass’s failure 5. Alvarez, S. A., & Barney, J. B. (2007). and success. Discovery and creation: Alternative theories of Conclusion entrepreneurial action. Strategic entrepreneurship In conclusion, an entrepreneur has do-abilities journal, 1(1‐2), 11-26. to create values to market and capture value to their 6. Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). What makes firm no matter what an idea is. However, what entrepreneurs entrepreneurial?. Retrieved from makes entrepreneurs different from non- entrepreneurs is effectual thinking of the future, rch_papers/what-makesentrepreneurs- how they behave to uncertainty, and, more entrepreneurial-sarasvathy_0.pdf importantly, employing the casual and effectual 7. Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and process flexibly to create an innovative idea. sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Google Glass Case study is an excellent example of management, 17(1), 99-120. how Google leveraged its firm’s resources, along with combining both kinds of approaches to sustain 8. Fuentelsaz, L., Maicas, J. P., & Montero, J. its competitive advance in the market. (2018). Entrepreneurs and innovation: The Acknowledgement contingent role of institutional factors. International With my profoundly heartfelt and gratefulness, I small business journal, 36(6), 686-711. would like to thank Mr. Alfred Schmidley for teaching the course Idea Management in Master 9. Knight, F. H. (1921). Risk, uncertainty and program of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the profit, Augustus M. Kelley, New York. University of Queensland. Through his training and 10. Hornaday, J. A., & Aboud, J. (1971). guidance on assignments, I obtained some certain Characteristics of successful understanding of the origin of innovation, types of entrepreneurs. Personnel psychology. innovation, and the entrepreneur definition to deal with the Google Glass case study. 11. Gartner, W. B. (1988). “Who is an entrepreneur?” is the wrong question. American Reference journal of small business, 12(4), 11-32. 1.Michael, S. (2014). What Google “Glassholes” Reveal About Managing Innovation. 12. Schmidley, A. (2020). Week one: Module Harvard Business Review. 1: Innovative ideas [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from EIBS7301, University of Queensland reveal-about-managing-innovation Blackboard Online, 2. Kim, L. (2018). Human Interface and the Management of Information. Interaction, 13. HSGUniSTGallen. (2012, December 14). Visualization, and Analytics. 10904, 371-380. The 10 Myths of Entrepreneurship [Video file]. Retrieved from 3. Pace, S. (2013). Looking at Innovation through CCT Glasses: Consumer Culture Theory 135
6. T.T.Luong/ No.19_Dec 2020|p.129-134 GOOGLE GLASS: NGUỒN GỐC CỦA ĐỔI MỚI, PHÂN LOẠI ĐỔI MỚI VÀ ĐỊNH NGHĨA DOANH NHÂN Tạ Thị Lượng Article info Abstract: Google Glass là một ví dụ điển hình để tìm hiểu cách đổi mới được tạo ra và Recieved: thương mại hóa. Đáng chú ý hơn, bài học từ các doanh nhân Google trong việc ra quyết định hay các hành vi đổi mới đối với Google Glass là vô cùng 28/08/2020 quý giá cho những cá nhân trên hành trình trở thành doanh nhân và nhà đổi Accepted: mới trong tương lai. Với mục đích này, bài viết này sẽ thảo luận các nội 10/12/2020 dung trên theo ba phần, bao gồm các loại đổi mới tương ứng với Google Glass, phương pháp đổi mới để tạo ra Google Glass và bài học và suy ngẫm của cá nhân tác giả từ định nghĩa về doanh nhân. Lưu ý rằng mọi lời giải thích sẽ dựa trên nghiên cứu trường hợp Google Glass và bằng chứng từ Keywords: nghiên cứu khoa học. Google Glass; đổi mới; tinh thần doanh nhân; trường hợp; nghiên cứu. 136