COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION PROPOSAL Nowadays organisations become more globally- and socially oriented, creating innovative solutions with minimal restrictions and maximum opportunities for teamwork. Innovations present essential grounds to enhance the long-known products and services, thus meeting the latest requirements of customers and those of the rapidly changing world. Offering the right solutions to provide relevant products and services to customers, both for their business and personal life - this is innovation per se. The global partnerships are an essential part of the contemporary business model, and the growth of companies is directly related to the ability of implementing positive social changes and reducing the environmental impact. First of all, it seems necessary to identify the phenomenon of collaborative innovation. Hartley, Sorensen, and Torfing (2013) argue that the paramount goal of collaborative innovation activity is to enhance the efficiency of production, gain advantages in competition, and, as a result, obtain additional profit and serve the society. Sauniere et al. (2013) believe that "collaborative innovation must be embedded in enterprise strategy with a sustainable vision and measurable objectives" (p. 5). In order to reform and revolutionise the way of production or a product through the implementation of collaborative innovation and, more generally, through the utilisation of new technological opportunities, the production of fundamentally new products or existing goods by new methods requires new resources in the form of intellectual inputs, ground-breaking managing approaches, and the integration of several contributors (Lee, Olson, & Trimi 2012). The collaborative innovation is defined by Leavy (2012) as innovative entrepreneurship - a special innovative process of creating something new based on the constant search for original opportunities by all the contributors engaged in the process. At this point, the latter is associated with the willingness of partners to take on all the risk of implementing a new product or improving an existing one along with financial, ethical, and social responsibilities that are likely to arise at the same time. Greer and Lei (2012) provide critical insights on collaborative innovation with customers (CIC) that "involves the processes by which firms and customers engage in mutual innovation, instead of the broader 01 issues of acquisition or divestiture" (p. 64). Reviewing the existing scholar literature on the mentioned issue, the authors reveal that technological progress made it possible to engage customers from all over the globe in collaborative efforts, focusing on collective product development, idea sharing, and collaborative elaboration of innovative solutions. As Greer and Lei (2012) emphasise, these benefits the companies and their customers as both receive the outcome they strive for and the implementation of their ideas. Moreover, the process of CIC fosters competition on the corresponding market, improves management procedures, and reduces costs required to develop a new product. Speaking of Unilever's contemporary involvement in collaborative innovation, it is possible to pinpoint several studies, media articles, and also the company's website that present the information regarding the contemporary efforts. In particular, one may exemplify the study by Greer and Lei (2012), in which it is noted that "viewers of an online series, which is sponsored by Sprint and Unilever, submit ideas for story plots and vote on the submissions of the viewer community" . This means that Unilever collaborates not only with other organisations, but also with its customers on the online platform (Frow et al. 2015). To implement these on practice, the company makes significant changes and seeks for the global partnerships that allow working with those who share their values ??and plans, in particular, the active and creative customer that are interested in participation of the company's collective actions and promotions. In accordance with it, Unilever strives to improve the lives of people related to the entire supply chain, "from the millions of smallholders and farmers who grow our ingredients, through the network of entrepreneurs and retailers who sell our products, to the billions of consumers who use them" (Working in partnerships to improve the lives of millions 2017,  ). The partnerships of the company are established to positively influence health and well-being of people, enhance their care opportunities, and create businesses free of any discrimination. Unilever collaborates with both local and international companies in order to fit the national market and develop on a large scale, respectively. Syneron Medical, Pfizer, Boehringer lngelheim, Merck, AstraZeneca, Arrow, and plenty of others are among partners of Unilever (The power of collective action - and the need for more 2016). For example, there is a product for water purification called Pureit Source that was developed in collaboration with Hindustan. There are six strategic centers for development that are located in Netherlands, India, USA, Great Britain, and China. Thus, Unilever expands the strategy of cooperation with partners in order to develop a number of important innovative projects that are expected to support the sustainable growth of the organisation. Extracted from: Unilever Sustainable Living Report Source: (Ingram, 2018)

 

1.1 With reference to organisations like Unilever, critically discuss the factors that need to be taken into consideration when designing goods and services and also the approaches that need to be embraced in order to consistently develop new products and services. Your response should refer to relevant examples. (20)

1.2 In the context of the operations management function, examine the significance of innovations and how they add value to an organisation such as Unilever. (10)

1.3 In your view, define the concept of collaborative innovation for Unilever and examine its weaknesses. (10)