Opportunity Recognition and Breakthrough Innovation in Large Established Firms

Within the context of the large established organization, breakthrough ideas are frequently lost. This article details describes how breakthrough innovations are captured through opportunity recognition. It is based on evidence from a six-year long study of twelve radical innovation projects in ten large U.S. firms. The article highlights inefficiencies in current managerial processes and provides examples of organizational structures, mechanisms, and roles directed at reducing these inefficiencies. It presents a set of approaches for improving opportunity recognition capabilities and identifies several mechanisms for senior management to encourage "radical innovation" people and processes.