Commercialization is the process of converting an idea or a product into a cash generation or viable mercantile facet. Businesses and individuals often generate concepts worth significant commercial value. Nonetheless, it is until such thoughts are commercialized that the inventors can enjoy the results. On the other hand, the process is never easy; many activities and processes are involved in the money-oriented activity. The failure to implement such elements well leads to eventual letdown, which often involves losing money and opportunity. That is why the following discussion purposes to cover the basic steps to effective commercialization as a way of promoting commercialization effectiveness.
Organizations competing through constant innovations understand the essence of commercialization. The likes of Google, Tesla, Apple, and Netflix, for example, appreciate that ideas are what run a business. For instance, the internet and smartphones were once mere ideas existing in the minds of particular investors. Steve Jobs is credited with the touch screen innovation that today runs the world. Personal computers, too, form a major part of the twentieth century commercialized products. All these illustrations prove one thing about commercialization: the facet involves more than a single step. Understanding such steps is crucial among investors intending to convert ideas into money-generating endeavors.
Every human being is born with a special gift that they are supposed to serve to the world. Finding and refining such a gift stands to earn the individual noteworthy commercial value. Weis et al. (2018) note that almost every person wishes to stand out and become wealthy by selling an attractive business idea. Companies and investors exhibit this need too, which often provides a competitive edge. Furthermore, Kessler posits that almost all the problems existing today can get solutions if all humans nurture their gifts.
Many people and organizations worldwide live with regrets concerning a great unsuccessful idea that failed to earn the anticipated commercial values. Samsung, for example, is yet to recover from the loss and other negative effects caused by 2016’s Galaxy Note 7 flop. Microsoft’s challenges with Windows Vista in 2007 also depict another critical problem regarding commercialization. Google, the tech giant, also exhibits botched inventions, like the Google+ and Google glass elements (Chechurin & Collan, 2019). All these products feature great ideas that can transform the world. However, a mistake committed in the commercialization process leads to immeasurable consequences that are hard to bear at times.
Studying the commercialization idea provides a list of steps organizations and individuals should undertake to avoid commercialization mistakes. Such steps include customer needs appreciation, value chain involvement, clarification of roles and responsibilities, risk management, and commercialization (Mikołajczak & Bajak, 2021). The various steps follow each other and need to flow the same way during the commercialization process. A business that overlooks any (commercialization) steps risks experiencing a hurting circumstance that leads to even downsizing or ultimate closure of operations.
Whether served by another organization’s products or not, the availability of customer needs in the market creates room for an entity’s idea to receive an effective launching and reception by the market. Abdoellah et al. (2020) maintain that a gap that needs satisfaction always exists in markets. Organizations and individuals linking their products to specific customer behaviors or needs thus find a ready demand, which leads to the realization of true commercial value. A look at a number of the botched ideas, say from Google and Samsung, lacks this vital element. Samsung’s Note 7, for example, disregarded consumers’ need for safe and reliable smart devices. The mistake thus explains the organization’s failure on the Note 7 invention.
On the other hand, value chain involvement connotes the involvement of all the concerned parties in the commercialization process. The value chain facet constitutes a business’s networks, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders. Clark (2021) maintains that ideas need to feature the opinions and concerns of all people to earn commercial value. A technology-based firm, for example, needs to look for concerns from several parties when inventing to ensure value chain inclusivity. Tech experts, customers, technology developers, investors, suppliers, and virtually every accessible party in the technology sector are some entities to consult for such a firm. The move aids in resolving and harmonizing all the contradictory or possibly harmful characteristics of the budding plan (Jordan, 2021). A look at Samsung’s Note S7, for example, informs the essence of this stage.
Samsung is a smartphone giant company that competes with Apple on market leadership. The firm features several smart devices that work well for clients. However, the move to commercialize Note 7’s idea went wrong because the firm failed to involve the value chain. As such, the mistake assumed the fact that many smartphone users require gadgets with improved power storage and consumption features. The error led Samsung to design the Note S7 contrary to the needs of the clients. The product failed the battery life test, which made it perform poorly in the market. Trials to improve the invention after its initial failure further worsened the situation by compromising the battery software. Consequently, Samsung had to face the commodity off after catching fire on several occasions due to power issues. Arguably, the money-oriented bid would not fail if the company implemented the value chain involvement phase of the commercialization process.
Roles and responsibilities’ clarification in the commercialization process appreciates the need for cooperation in the whole course. The teams need to work together and ensure effective communication for the success of the project. Trust and clear roles and responsibilities thus play a major role in the open sharing of information. Setting roles and responsibilities among the project team eliminates competition while fostering cooperation and unity (Gottschalk, 2017). The parties involved in the project also manage to work with trust when no conflicting interests are available.
Distribution of work in the commercialization process makes managing things like intellectual property and costs easy. Knowing what to handle and the limitations each party exhibits in the commercialization projects eliminates disputes and confusion (Popkova & Ostrovskaya, 2019). Eltorai et al. (2020) insist that the roles and responsibilities clarification stage works effectively when the earlier phases are implemented. For instance, involving the value chain before classifying roles allows the various project teams to handle all the possible concerns easily, thus promoting the commercialization process’s success potential.
There are several uncertainties and risks associated with the business world, and the commercialization process is not exceptional. The gap between implementing an idea that works in the laboratory in real life, for example, consists of immeasurable doubts that businesses and individuals must manage. The issue thus informs the next stage of the commercialization process, which is the management of risks (World Intellectual Property Organization, 2020). Progressively administering pilot tests in larger scopes relative to the laboratory size offers a crucial approach to peril management during commercialization.
Risk management during innovation processes creates room for slow and steady implementation of the idea while managing the arising issues until the full-scale execution occurs. The process saves organizations and innovators the threat of realizing setbacks when it is late. Samsung’s commercialization of Note S7, for example, seems to fail this test. The company’s rush to outpace Apple and become a market leader probably forced it to overlook this fundamental phase of the commercialization process. The outcome of such a blunder is the miserable failure of the innovation that led to the crush of the strategy.
The commercialization phase should be easy after the implementation of the above stages. Following the steps leads to a systematic procedure that eradicates challenges and issues that may affect the process. The situation also finds customers and the whole value chain ready to adopt the new idea and reward the inventor. Identifying mistakes earlier during the procedure also leaves the innovator or business with significantly lesser issues to tackle during implementation. Nonetheless, Nafukho and Makulilo (2021) report that waiting for the right timing and market condition to launch the invention is key to promoting the commercialization’s accomplishment. Seamless cooperation throughout the various stages among all the departments of an organization is necessary during the popularizing phase.
In conclusion, the commercialization process is significantly complex and challenging for many investors. The endeavor involves significantly many pitfalls that need avoidance. Of much importance to note is the point that bringing something new in the market exhibits substantial surprises. The innovator needs to remain ready to handle such for success. Identifying the need to make critical decisions and making them on time is crucial. One need not abandon a bright idea because of facing challenges. Being ready to handle and manage changes or even call the entire thing off for a new start further makes the mind of a real inventor. Lastly, investors need to understand that not all great designs become viable and be ready to conceal a defeat if things fail to work. Nonetheless, handling the whole issue with a positive mentality and following the above stages guarantee commercial success.
References
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