What is the "Innovation Behavioral Science" Project?

Create an "Amazing Individual" at the center of Corporations and Society

Innovation Behavioral Science (IBS) Project

IBS is one of key projects at GLOCOM led by diverse experts.

1. Purpose of Innovation Behavioral Science

We believe that the key success factor of innovation is not strategy, but human behavior. This project is the research on "mindset and behavior" of people challenging to transform corporations and society.

Innovation does not begin from an organization, but from the "behavior of an individual". Innovation Behavioral Science (IBS) is a research that aims for corporate evolution and social transformation by discovering, from a scientific approach, the mindset and behavior of people that lead to a new business, and building a structure that supports this.

2. Our Approach

We've focused on the innovative behavior of Business Producers and Social Entrepreneurs.

For innovation to occur, a platform created by the following players is significant:

• - "Social Entrepreneur" who discovers societal change and potential needs
• - "Business Producer" who transforms the idea to a business
• - "Management" to give strong support to both players' activities

This research focuses to stimulate the roles and networks of these players.

3. Introduction - Innovation Behavioral Science is a science that transforms Society

Innovation not only points to technology/business that creates economic impact in the market through differentiation. The genuine value is in "creating a new business" that meets the deep demands of society that lie beneath the market, and has the function of evolving society through this transformation.

IBS seeks for this change-creating process in the "behavior of the individual" that realizes changes in society and uses diverse networks to achieve it as a business. Furthermore, it is a project that aims to reveal this mechanism. Through this research, we hope to create an environment where potential Social Entrepreneurs and Business Producers that exist within large-scale corporations and civil society will raise hands and become active upon their own initiative.

4. Features of Innovation Behavioral Science

Purpose: To science the human side of innovation

Many corporations are undergoing an innovation deficiency syndrome. The main cause of this lies in the modern management methods that pursue management of objectives and efficiency. Management that suppresses each person's intrinsic creativity and originality that challenge toward something new is discouraging innovation.

In order to achieve innovation, its speed from realizing changes to making suggestions, decisions and actions, and the focus on the behavior of a "strong individual" (innovation hub) that turns his or her eyes to innovation productivity and leads the organization towards transformative actions, is essential. IBS is also a research to investigate this "human side of innovation".

Viewpoint: "Social imbalance" is the ultimate innovation theme

Corporations that realize that the viewpoint of innovation is going through a large transformation are still few.

The development of products and services targeted towards an advanced consumer society was the innovation theme of the 20th century. However, entering the 21st century, the major theme is now shifting towards corrections and solutions to the social imbalance in the world. Social imbalance not only questions the societal responsibility of corporations, but resolving this is a prerequisite for sustainable corporate management, and can also be seen as an enormous business opportunity depending on the perspective. IBS is a research that develops methods for corporations to connect with the society sector, and escape from the principle of "economic supremacy" and the "Not Invented Here Syndrome".

Research themes: Behavioral Science of a Social Entrepreneur, Business Producer, and Management

There are 3 steps that require different mindsets and behaviors to achieve innovation: discover potential issues and create ideas (the specialty of a Social Entrepreneur), promote the idea as a project and shape it into business (the specialty of a Business Producer), and invest capital and operate the business sustainably (the specialty of Management). IBS aims to analyze the 3 steps that take place in the flow from an idea to a business operation, and identify the behavioral patterns and the support environment that is essential for each to create an environment where innovation of an individual can transform to dynamic innovation of an entire organization.

From this standpoint, we will promote the project based on 2 themes: promotion of social innovation through the interaction of social activities of Social Entrepreneurs and corporations ("Idea Generation"), and the behavior of Business Producers that have achieved product development and service innovation that lead to the creation of a new market ("Innovation Produce").

5. Research Project (1): Pracademia Salon for Social Innovation

Innovation Behavioral Research Program that learns from Social Entrepreneurs

We offer an environment for people of corporations to discuss/interact with Social Entrepreneurs, who little contact was made with in the innovation activities of corporations in the past. Collaborative research on methods such as discovering/excavating social needs, and ways of finding linkage/cooperation between corporations and NPO/NGOs are the foci.

6. Research Project (2): Business Producer Dojo

Study the "Model" of Innovation Behavior that moves an Organization

This is a training-style research program that aims to deepen the behavioral model of Business Producers. It will be based on diverse case studies through matching with the field experience of corporations, not only on new technology and ideas as sources of innovation, but by focusing on the behavior of Business Producers that transform those seeds into business.