Overview

In this simulation, participants are tasked with managing Back Bay Battery’s innovation strategy to ensure the company meets its performance goals while continuing to invest in future growth opportunities.

Faced with the classic Innovator’s Dilemma, they will have to manage trade-offs between improving their core technology for existing customers and investing in a new, potentially disruptive technology.

Description

Participants learn how to play the simulation through a series of prompts that guide them through the interface. They can revisit the tutorial at any time during the run.

Before playing, participants settle into their role as President by learning about Back Bay Battery’s products and customers as well as current trends shaping the industry.

Key Learning Objectives

Disruptive innovations often don’t meet the needs of a firm’s top customers, but managers need to keep an eye on whether these innovations could potentially meet the needs of other customers.
Sometimes the best opportunity for a product is not visible early on, and it takes time to develop. Closely watching the market and building strategy in an emergent way is helpful in these circumstances.
Managers must carefully allocate R&D funds based on the evolution of a firm’s strategy.
Meeting specific short-term financial targets can constrain a company’s ability and willingness to innovate.
Managers are best positioned to invest in potentially disruptive innovation when the core business is healthy. They should always be thinking about how to make the new disruptive business profitable as quickly as possible.