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FLAGSHIP RESEARCHER COMPLETES DOCTORATE AT ANDERSON UNIVERSITY

The Flagship is dedicated to providing diverse opportunities to increase innovation in our communities, support entrepreneurs through the growth and product development process, assist clients in securing the support to become vibrant market leaders, and provide research opportunities for our clients to increase their exposure to new ideas and enhance their strategies for success.

Many of the Flagship clients have been instrumental in a recent project for Dr. Staci Lugar Brettin, a doctoral graduate of Anderson University. Staci has visited the Flagship numerous times since 2008, to interview clients, explore ideas and concepts for her dissertation, and to test the validity of research questions with radically successful entrepreneurs. Staci extends a special thank you to the following clients who most recently participated in in-depth interviews: Mr. Travis Street of Complete Technology Solutions,  Mr. Paul Phipps  of Comfort Motion Technologies, Mr. John Weymouth of Medisurg, Mr. Nate Richardson of Coeus Technology, Mrs. Tammy Rimer of CN Design & Marketing, and Mr. Pete Bitar of Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems.

Staci’s dissertation is titled “The Market Oriented Innovator’s Dilemma,” and her findings are unique. A summary of her executive summary is below. Please join me in celebrating Staci’s success, and the increasing value of research at the Flagship! Staci is currently a visiting lecturer at Indiana University South Bend, and may be reached at brettin1@comcast.net

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 Research on innovation addresses the importance of market orientation and market learning in developing a competitive advantage. The synergistic effect of market and entrepreneurial orientations on innovation has been explored extensively. However, radical innovation orientation (RIO) as conceptualized by Tellis, Prabhu, and Chandy (2009) has not been widely utilized as a measure of competitive advantage. A significant void exists in extant literature on the combined impact of market focus and market learning on radical innovation orientation in small U.S. businesses. Utilizing the Hurley and Hult Model of Organization and Market-Driven Innovation (1998) the researcher explored the relationship between market focus on radical innovation orientation, the influence of market learning style on radical innovation orientation, and the impact of radical innovation orientation on achieving firm-level growth targets. A total of 353 small business decision makers were surveyed.

Multiple regression analysis was utilized to test six hypotheses. The results present a market oriented innovator’s dilemma: while previous research asserts that market oriented firms innovate and enjoy greater performance (Matsuno, Mentzer, and Ozsomer, 2002), this study’s findings strongly suggest that entrepreneurially oriented firms generate higher levels of radical innovation orientation and greater opportunities for competitive advantage. Managers who want to increase firm-level radical innovation orientation need to increase their entrepreneurial orientation and exploratory learning, and decrease their focus on market orientation, new product development, and achieving growth targets in the short term. Thus, the dilemma: market oriented firms should pursue their market-driven cultures at the risk of generating limited levels of innovativeness and innovative capacity, recognizing that the short term benefits of market orientation could translate into significant obstacles to radical innovation and competitive advantage in the long term.