research@hec - Issue #11 - (Page II)

Should Business Schools Conduct Research on Innovation? In September 2009, HEC Paris introduced a new research team for innovation management. Find out more about the team and its goals. “Innovation is a matter of technology learn, corporate venturing, technology and standards manageand patents; business schools have ment, open innovation, and relationships between businesses no authority on the issue.” This assump- and universities. tion has fortunately been disproven The extensive list of group members’ research interests testmany times over, as numerous stu- ifies to the potential synergies to be found within a group of dies have shown innovation to be a people who are tackling innovation as a multi-dimensional whole. multi-dimensional process. Innova- By definition, the size of the research team will vary over time. tion depends on a broad range of varia- It remains open to any researcher or doctoral student whose bles that include not only technology, work leads him or her to take a particular interest in innovation. but also economic models, customer The innovation management research team is pursuing two relations, innovation applications, sup- specific goals. First, to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange that plier and competitor partnerships, will enhance people’s individual research projects, provide Sihem Jouini, professor in the department of individual motivation and interests, stimulation, and enrich HEC’s collective research initiatives. operations management and intellectual property rights … the list Second, to make HEC’s focus on innovation known to compainformation technology could go on. Given the importance of innovation for gaining an edge in business, many companies are trying to boost their capacity to The extensive list of group members’ research interests ensure a continuous flow of innovative offetestifies to the potential synergies to be found within rings. They are therefore focusing on crossfunctional, open organizational schemes a group of people who are tackling innovation that are conducive to competency combias a multi-dimensional whole. nation and renewal. As a management learning and research institution, HEC has an interest in this trend and the associated issues; hence the September 2009 creation of an “innovation nies in the Foundation as well as to national and international management” research team at HEC Paris. The purpose of the learning and research institutions such as other members of team is to facilitate exchange among people who all focus on ParisTech and the Plateau de Saclay Campus. innovation, but who come from different backgrounds and have The innovation management team is likely to direct its multiapproached the subject from a variety of angles. There are cur- disciplinary approach toward the following research topics: rently fifteen people in this team. Human resources experts generating ideas and stimulating innovation capacity in today’s study creativity, idea generation, knowledge management, and firms; developing critical knowledge; organizational schemes leadership; marketing specialists focus on inter-company rela- for the sustainable development of innovation; multi-partner tions and user response to new products; project management cooperation; boosting motivation and fostering risk-taking; and researchers concentrate on risk management in situations of moving forward without sacrificing existing business activity. I high uncertainty, management of pre-development project investigation, development process management, and the role of project design; and strategists examine how innovative entrepreneurs research hec II research@hec • October-November 2009 http://www.hec.edu/Faculty/Professors-alphabetical-list/(professor)/Jouini

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of research@hec - Issue #11

Cover & Contents
Should Business Schools Conduct Research on Innovation?
Cash Reserves: Both Safety and Strategy!
A Grain of Sand: Often a Pearl, Sometimes Poison
Increasing the Effectiveness of Online Advertising

research@hec - Issue #11