10 Types of Innovation Examples
“Innovation almost never fails due to a lack of creativity. It’s almost always because of a lack of discipline.” So say the team at Dolbin who are the creators of the Ten Types of Innovation framework. They argue that the solution is to look beyond new product innovation and to include, where possible, nine other types of innovation that when combined are proven to deliver sustainable competitive advantage.
The Ten Types of Innovation framework is the result of an exhaustive study of more than 2,000 successful innovations, including Google, Lego, McDonalds, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Cirque du Soleil, the Ford Model-T, and thousands more, to uncover the 10 innovative concepts that innovators successfully deploy.
Where the Ten Types of Innovation excels is that its research highlights those patterns of innovation that have been successful within a wide range of industries. Not only that, the research shows that companies can identify innovation opportunities and evaluate how they are performing against competitors.
That the authors applied a proprietary algorithm which determined the ten meaningful groupings—the Ten Types of Innovation—need not concern us. What’s important is that the framework can be applied to your business today to begin the innovation process and unlock new growth opportunities.
The following table lists examples of each type of innovation and the tactics used to successfully execute in each one.
| Innovation Type | Examples | Tactics |
| Product | Corning (tough thin glass) | New functionality, ease of use, customisation, performance, safety, style, environmental sensitivity |
| Product system | Microsoft (Office), Mozilla (Firefox) | Complements, extensions, plug-ins, modular system, bundling, software platforms |
| Service | 7-Eleven (Japan: bill payment), Zappos (customer-centric culture) | Loyalty programs, self-service, concierge, experience management, try before you buy, guarantees |
| Channel | M-Pesa (mobile payment), Amazon (Kindle), Nike (stores), Nespresso (stores, clubs) | Go-direct, cross-selling, diversification, flagship stores, multi-level marketing, non-traditional channels |
| Brand | Virgin (‘fun’ companies), Intel (Inside), Trader Joe’s (destination labels) | Brand extension/leverage, co-branding, certification, private label, transparency, values alignment |
| Customer engagement | Apple (annual conference), FourSquare (‘mayorships’), Blizzard (World of WarCraft) | Community, personalisation, status, experience simplification, curation, autonomy |
| Process | Zara (apparel design), Hindustan Lever (sachets), Zipcar (rentals), Toyota (Lean), Ikea (flat-packs) | Crowdsourcing, lean production, IP, localisation, on-demand production, predictive analytics, process automation, standardisation, user involvement |
| Structure | FabIndia (local community ownership), Southwest Airlines (only one type of aircraft) | Competency centre, corporate university, decentralised management, incentives, IT integration, knowledge management, outsourcing, organisational design |
| Profit model | Gillette (stick + blades), Hilti (power tools on loan), Schibsted Media (freemium classifieds) | Ad-supported, auction, bundling, low cost, financing, freemium, licensing, membership, microbilling, forced scarcity, risk-sharing, switchboard |
| Network | GlaxoSmithKline (co-innovation), Natura (research network with universities) | Alliances, coopetition, M&A, open innovation, supply chain integration, franchising |
Thanks to Madanmohan Rao, research director at YourStory Media for the examples.
Innovation affects everyone. It can begin in an adjacent vertical and quickly spill over into your sector. Online accounting software had a massive impact on those businesses that printed journals and ledgers. In a short space of time their market evaporated as businesses and accountants moved all their business software accounting requirements online. It was a similar story for the whip maker who looked at the Model-T and never saw the automobile as a threat.
Creativity and the disciple to drive innovation is neatly captured in the Ten Types of Innovation framework. No matter what business you are in or the size of your business, plan to put time aside and use the framework to brain storm on ideas for your business. You won’t be disappointed!
