Innovation Series - 2: Innovation Measures

An article on the Business Daily Newspaper by Professor Scott serves as the Director of the New Economy Venture Accelerator (NEVA) and Chair of the Faculty Senate at the United States International University-Africa,Jepkemoi launched an innovative marketing and public relations firm in 2009. She focused on creative solutions to client needs and quickly gained a solid foothold in the Nairobi and later Mombasa markets. Her top line revenues tripled each year between 2010 and 2012 and doubled afterwards until sales took a nosedive in 2014. Over halfway through 2015, Jepkemoi decided to send out online surveys to her existing, former, and prospective clients. Much to her dismay, questionnaire results clearly indicated a market perception that her firm's once coveted creativity had dissipated and would-be clients viewed the company as decidedly not innovative. Puzzled, Jepkemoi attempted to think through what cause underpinned the dismal feedback. Initially tempted to blame increased competition, she decided to take a closer look. The only major change in her business involved the hiring of a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in February 2014. However, Jepkemoi thought that surely the CMO change could not have led to the demise of the firm's innovation. She viewed the CMO as a real go-getter, very organised, and very much in control of all external aspects of the marketing and public relations business. Jepkemoi decided to set up a breakfast meeting with a former MBA colleague who always seemed to know strategy and organisational development matters. Intermittently between sips of coffee, her friend explained the delicate balance of maintaining creativity and innovation in a company. The former classmate recommended that Jepkemoi utilize an internal survey of her staff to gauge their capacity and willingness towards innovation. The friend pointed out how researchers like Scott Helm and Fredrik Andersson employ the innovation tool in socially conscious businesses like hers