Innovation through global collaboration : a new source of competitive advantage (a study of Nigerian Breweries PLC)

Recent studies on innovation portray traditional approaches to innovation, wherein firms focus solely on their centralized Research and Development team in their pursuit and creation of innovation, as fast becoming outdated; bringing about the need to rethink the way firms managed innovation. This study was motivated by the need to understand the strategies and practices used by firms that have achieved greater success in their collaborative innovative efforts, and how this gave them a competitive advantage, using Nigerian Breweries Plc., as a case study. The research objectives are to: ascertain ways of measuring and developing innovation capabilities for business growth; provide an insight into the concept of global innovative collaboration and how it leads to organizational efficiency; and find out how an effective collaborative network can enhance innovativeness as a springboard for attaining competitive advantage. The research design adopted was the survey method. Primary data were collected using the questionnaire; our hypotheses were tested using the Chi-square, and our respondents comprise of the Management staff, and other category of workers at Nigerian Breweries Plc., which resulted in the following findings: that Nigerian Breweries Plc. was able to achieve efficiency and an immense growth in business by developing adequate collaborative innovative capabilities which have positive impact on the competitive advantage of the organisation. Therefore, the effective collaborative innovative network is the springboard of Nigerian Breweries Plc.’s attainment of competitive advantage; and a corporate collaborative innovation environment helps reinforce and amplify employee morale, build leadership and career opportunities by helping employees work better together. It was concluded that, collaborative innovation is an effective and efficient way to achieve competitive advantage. It is recommended that organisations should, critically assess their collaborative innovation strategies alongside those of other players in preparing for collaboration, tactfully address the issue of trust, focus on efficient use of firm’s resources, and continually foster an organisational climate that promotes the processes of collaborative innovation