UNILEVE'S PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION PROPOSAL Nowadays organisations become more globally-and socially oriented, creating innovative solufions with minimal restrictions and maximum opportunites 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 rapidy changing world. Ottering the right solutions to provide relevart products and services to customers, both for their business and personal life - this is innovation per se. The giobal partnerships are an essential part of the contemporary business model, and the growth of companies is directly relaled to the abilty of implementing positive social changes and reducing the enviconmental impact. First of al, it seems necessary to identily the phenomenon of collaborative innovation. Hartley. Sorenson, and Torfing (2013) argue that the paramount goal of collaborafive innovation activity is to enhance the elficiency of production, gain advantages in competition, and, as a result, obtain addifional profit and serve the society. Saunere et al. (2013) believe that "collaborative imovation 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 fundamentaly new products or existing goods by new methods requires new resources in the form of intellectual inguts, ground breaking managing approaches, and the insegration of several controutors (Lee, Olson, 8 Trimi 2012). The collaborative innovabicn 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 al the risk of implementing a new product or improving an existing one along with financial, ethical, and social responsbilies that are likely to arise at the sarre time. Greer and Lei (2012) provide critical insights on collaborafive innovation with customers (CIC) that "involves the processes by which firms and custiomers engage in mutual innovation, instead of the broader Ol issues of acquisition or divestiure" (o. 64). Reviewing the existing scholar liserature on the mentioned issue, the authors reveal that technological progress made it possible to engage customets 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 benefts the companies and their customers as boch receive the outcome they strive for and the implementation of their ideas. Moreover. the process of CIC fosters compestion on the corresponding market. improves management procedures, and reduces costs required to develop a new product. Speaking of Unilever's contemporary imwolvement 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 Lel (2012), in which it is noted that viewers of an online serles, which is sponsored by Sprint and Unilever, subemit ideas for story plots and vote on the submissions of the viewer communily ip. 69). This means that Unilever collaborates not only with other organisatons, 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 creatve customer that ase interested in participation of the company's collective actions and promotions. In accordance weth 2 . Unilover strives to improve the Ives of people related to the entire supply chain, Trom the millions of smallholders and farmers who grow our ingredients, through the network of entrepreneurs and retalers who sell our products, to fhe bilicns of consumers who use them" (Working in partnerships to improve the lives of millions 2017, para 4). The partnerships of the company are established to postively infuence health and wel-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 ft the national market and develop on a large scale, respectively. Syneron Medical, Pfizer, Boehringer lngeheim, 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 procuct for water purfication called Pureit Source that was developed in collaboration with Hindustan. There are six strategic centers for development that are locaved in Netherlands, Inda, USA. Great Bettain, and China. Thus, Uniever expands the strategy of cooperation with parthers 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 Answer ALL the questions in this section. QUESTION 1 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