Innovation and Sport
Innovation Theory and Ski Racing
Overview – Wax Innovation
+Technology’s importance to success in sport continues to
grow (Ratten, 2020)
+New regulation has created a sudden need for new innovation
+Fluorocarbon waxes have lessened the importance of overall
ski set-up, creating opportunity for new ideas
+Lessons from other technology-dependent sports can help
guide for the Ski Technicians Association of Canada Centre of
Excellence
Insights from Innovation Theories
+ Regulatory change has
eliminated the dominant design
used in ski racing around the
world
+ One-to-one product replacement
attempts could create multiple
solutions from competitors
+ Learning curve effects suggest
high initial cost/performance
trade-offs that improve over time
(Schilling, 2020)
F1’s Regulatory Challenge
+ Regulation change
in F1 is a common
occurrence but
varies in scope
+ Large changes slow
cars but only
temporarily
+ Multiple types of
innovation can be
required to reclaim
speed
Fastest Qualifying Laps - F1 Monaco Grand Prix
77
76
75
74
73
72
71
70
69
68
67
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Time (s)
(Cato's Forecaster Association, 2021)
2018
2019
2021
Approach to Innovation
+Snow Sports Canada’s early decisions about how to innovate
will have drastic impacts on the path(s) they select
Process or
Product
Incremental or
Radical
Enhancing or
Destroying
Architectural
or Component
New wax
compound
Both
Either
Enhancing
Component
New ski design
Product
Radical
Destroying
Architectural
New skipreparation
techniques
Process
Incremental
Enhancing
Component
Integrating Types of Innovation
+Selecting between types of innovation may be a false choice
+Given the multiple areas in which innovation can occur,
multiple solutions may be warranted
+Taking a concurrent engineering approach to incremental
innovations and lead to higher product quality (Valle &
Vázquez-Bustelo, 2009)
+Higher levels of uncertainty associated with radical
innovations may be better suited to traditional approaches to
new product development
Expected Patterns
+S-Curve technology trajectories apply can apply to both
adoption and performance
+Technology is in the fluid phase of the cycle
+Traditional diffusion of technology may not apply
+Regulatory change often creates large opportunities for
innovation (Teigland et al., 2020)
+Lessons from FinTech industry highlight how this can occur (Adriano,
2017)
Institutionalizing Innovation
+Different types of innovation have different requirements
+ Adopting an incremental approach may save costs but could hamper the
long-term viability of solutions
+ A radical rethink requires bigger budgets, diverse personnel
+Partnerships across with different organizations and institutions can
bring on highly invested stakeholders (Schilling, 2020)
+Hiring generalists with diverse backgrounds can enhance creativity
(Schilling, 2020)
+Small teams with diverse backgrounds may be best equipped to
generate radical innovation (Crum, 2019)
Innovation at Sea
+ America’s Cup
racing
necessitates
innovative
thinkers and
organizations
+ Talent sharing
across
organizations and
cross-industry
partnerships can
help drive
creativity
(Emirates Team New Zealand, 2020)
Key Takeaways
+Expect performance setbacks, but keep investing in
innovation
+Strategic decisions – determining where and how to innovate
matters
+People and partnerships – attracting the best stakeholders is
vital to success
References
+
Adriano, L. (2017, November 7). CRM2 feeds Canadian fintech and Regtech. Wealth Professional. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/news/industrynews/crm2-feeds-canadian-fintech-and-regtech/233540
+
Cato's Forecaster Association. (2021). Fastest Lap Qualifying Monaco Circuit. Cato's Forecaster Association. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.f1cfa.com/rkspeed.asp?gpn=Monaco
+
Crum, M. D. (2019, January). Radical Innovation, Agency Costs And The Small Firm Advantage (thesis). ResearchGate. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330305530_Radical_Innovation_Agency_Costs_and_the_Small_Firm_Advantage.
+
Emirates Team New Zealand. (2020). Emirates Team New Zealand. photograph. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://emirates-team-new-zealand.americascup.com/en/news/485_TEREHUTAI-TICKS-OFF-DAY-ONE-TESTING.html.
+
Media, N. (2022, January 16). Ineos Britannia's new chief technical officer James Allison. Sailweb. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.sailweb.co.uk/2022/01/13/ineos-britannias-newchief-technical-officer-james-allison/#:~:text=He%20has%20now%20taken%20on,as%20a%20%E2%80%9Cdizzying%20challenge%E2%80%9D.
+
Partners in innovation: Airbus supports American Magic in its bid for the America's Cup. Airbus. (2021, October 28). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from
https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/news/2019-09-partners-in-innovation-airbus-supports-american-magic-in-its-bid-for-the#:~:text=Innovation,Partners%20in%20innovation%3A%20Airbus%20supports%20American%20Magic%20in,bid%20for%20the%20America's%20Cup&text=When%20U.S.%20team%20American%20Magic,broad
%20range%20of%20related%20disciplines.
+
Ratten, V. (2020). Sport technology: A commentary. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 31(1), 100383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hitech.2020.100383
+
Schilling, M. A. (2020). Strategic Management of Technological Innovation. McGraw-Hill Education.
+
Teigland, R., Siri, S., Larsson, A., Puertas, A. M., & Bogusz, C. I. (2020). A regulatory innovation framework: How regulatory change leads to innovation outcomes for FinTechs. In The rise and
development of Fintech: Accounts of disruption from Sweden and beyond (pp. 22–38). essay, Routledge.
+
Valle, S., & Vázquez-Bustelo, D. (2009). Concurrent engineering performance: Incremental versus radical innovation. International Journal of Production Economics, 119(1), 136–148.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.02.002