In the last few months (Sep-Nov) I got an opportunity to teach “Strategic management of technology and innovation” (SMTI) at IIM Bangalore to EPGP, PGP, and PGPBA students. In a fast-changing technology world, SMTI kept me on my toes even though I was teaching it for the sixth time in the last six years. It was a period when genAI hype had begun to settle down, all tech giants had taken positions in humanoids, and AMD under Lisa Su was doing much better than Intel. Here are a few things that stand out as I reflect on what I learned.
The increasing role of start-ups: Traditionally, Indian
companies have focused more on operational excellence and relied on long-term partnerships
for technology development and innovation. For example, Tata-Hitachi
(construction material), TVS-Suzuki (two-wheelers), Amara Raja Batteries (ARBL)-Johnson
controls (battery technologies), etc. However, over the past two decades, some Indian companies have shifted gears in their technology
strategy. Some have set up / strengthened their in-house R&D (e.g. ARBL). Moreover,
over the past decade, the center of gravity of innovation has shifted towards start-ups
and they seem to be playing an increasingly important role in how large companies
are managing technology and innovation. Reliance
acquired Faradion from the UK in the Sodium-Ion battery space and has invested in the
robotics company Addverb, Titan
acquired Hyderabad-based HUG innovations to scale the digital watch business, fertilizer
player Coromandel Intl is a majority
stakeholder in Chennai-based drone startup Dhaksha. Over the past five
years, Maruti Suzuki has onboarded
18 startups as business partners through its accelerator. With the startup
ecosystem maturing in India, this trend is likely to grow.
Innovation-related disclosures in annual reports: Disclosure
of intellectual capital or innovation dashboard in annual reports is not a
statutory requirement in India. However, several companies present various
parameters such as new products launched, R&D expenses, patents
filed/granted, automation achievements, digital onboarding (in banking and
insurance space), etc. Some companies also mention continuous improvement-related
metric. In fact, in many annual reports, there is a separate section called
intellectual capital where this information is presented. There is no
consistency in these disclosures, however, it give some idea as to what is
important to the company as far as innovation is concerned. For example, please
see some of the innovation dashboards from Tata
Motors, Asian Paints, SBI Life, and Zomato. I feel a lot can be learned
about innovation from these disclosures.
Role of genAI: Unlike last year, genAI tools were no
longer a curiosity. They had become part of an accepted toolset. Students were
openly discussing it. I can’t say I used it extensively while preparing for the
course. However, I found it useful in getting pointers for further study. For
example, while studying AMD’s strategy during the last decade, ChatGPT gave useful tips.
However, I relied a lot more on annual reports, earnings calls, CXO interviews,
etc. I thought the assignments might be a high-scoring match given the access
to genAI tools. I am sure the tools were used extensively by students. However,
it didn’t guarantee quality reports and there was a lot of variation in the quality
of answers and referencing. Let’s see how this aspect evolves going forward.
Guest lectures: We had two guest lectures bringing in a fresh industry perspective. The first one was from Dr. Balvinder Singh who is a leader
in camera/vision/XR technology and is credited with Samsung smartphone camera global
leadership from Galaxy S3-S24. He presented how camera development especially
the role of software has evolved in the past decade. He also shared the important
role open innovation is playing for companies like Samsung.
The second guest lecture was from Sunil Mishra, who has decades
of experience developing banking products. Sunil gave an overview of the rapidly evolving
digital banking ecosystem in India and associated product innovations. Who
would have thought India would have virtual or neo banks with no physical
branches so soon?
