The Innovation Odyssey : Lessons From an Impossible Project

Affordable is not typically the first adjective used to describe an electric automobile. This book traces the history of an affordable electric car, from its genesis to its marketing. This history is more than a singular adventure. It is the analysis of a project that allows us to understand the key issues of strategy and management of contemporary innovation. The book features in lessons in: • Strategy revealing the complexity of international product development and the conditions for its implementation in today’s fragmented world • Project management showing what is required to succeed in the a priori impossible challenge of a design within an alliance between five partners from four different countries • Innovation demonstrating that the electrification of mobility can be combined with affordable prices. • Industrial policy using the emblematic domain of electric vehicles to illustrate the major role of public authorities in technology, the future direction of this role, and the importance in the competition between Western and Chinese industries. • Intrapreneurship showing that a start-up is not the only context in which it is possible to attempt and experience breakthroughs. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Table of Contents 8 List of Figures and Tables 14 Foreword 18 Preface 20 About the Authors 26 Introduction 28 Part 1 The Odyssey of K-ZE 32 Chapter 1: The Long March of the Accessible Vehicle Concept for China 36 The Explosion of the Chinese Market: A Promised Land for Automakers 37 Twenty Years of Attempts to Penetrate the Chinese Market 38 The Electric Vehicle as Essential to the Conquest of the Chinese Market 39 From Emergence to Affirmation of the “Access EV” Concept for China 40 Conclusion: the Emergent Strategy and Its Relationship to Projects 42 Chapter 2: Preliminary Project: Exploring the Unknown 44 An Exploration Driven by Economic Factors 45 Framing the Research 46 Researching the Supplier Base—Key to the Feasibility of Design-to-Cost 52 Choice of the Manufacturing Plant 54 Monitoring the Dynamics of Chinese Electric Vehicle Standards 56 A Prototype Prepared in France, and a New Modular Battery 57 Multi-Brand Marketing, but Volume Forecasts Remain Uncertain 57 September 28, 2016, Meeting 58 Conclusion: The Preliminary Project Is an Integral Part of the Whole 62 Chapter 3: An Innovative Framework for a Cooperative Design 64 eGT, the Operator of the Project 65 An Original Business Model 67 The Constitution of the Project Team 72 Team Management: Multicultural Integration and Cohesion 77 Conclusion: Power and the Limits of Formal Project Framing 78 Chapter 4: An Agile Development in an Unprecedented Context 82 The Challenges of Working Outside the Norms 82 Product Definition 83 The Inexorable Inflation of Performance 83 Adapting the Platform 85 Ambitious Volumes that Increased as the Project Progressed 86 Differentiation Management 87 Co-Design with Suppliers 87 The Design-to-Cost War Machine 88 Battery Crisis 90 From Investment Decisions to the Start of Mass Production: K-ZE, a Vehicle Without a Plant? 93 Construction of the New Body Shop, from Blockages to Spectacular Recoveries 94 Plant Startup: Heavy Weather in Shiyan (Fall 2019) 95 The Battle for Quality 98 Passing the Quality Milestones on K-ZE 98 Improving the Quality of Suppliers 99 Spring Development: Mission Accomplished 101 Conclusion: Toward a Model of Development Compatible with Innovation 103 Chapter 5: A Project in a Perfect Storm 106 A Promising Commercial Launch 106 Four Shockwaves in the Chinese Market 108 The Financial Crisis at DRAC, the Project’s First Client 108 The Networks of Other Chinese Subsidiaries Break Their Commitments 110 COVID-19 Hits 113 Change in the Criteria for Granting Subsidies 114 Storm Clouds Gather at Renault and Nissan Headquarters 114 In the Face of Headwinds, the Project Pivots to Europe 115 Conclusion: A Truly Resilient Project 116 Chapter 6: The Phoenix 120 A Diffi cult Trip to Europe 120 Engineering for European Launch 122 A Product That Arrived at the Right Time 123 Dual European Deployment 125 The Marketing of the Dacia Spring 128 Conclusion: Dacia Spring, the Accessible Electric Vehicle That Is Changing the Market 129 Conclusion of Part 1: Evaluating Innovation Projects 132 Part 2: Learning from Projects 136 Chapter 7: Societal Innovation and Administered Darwinism 138 The Dynamics of the Electric Vehicle Market in China and Europe 140 Electric Vehicle Regulations in Europe and China 144 European Regulations 144 Emission Regulations 145 Support for the Battery Industry 148 The Deployment of Charging Networks 149 The Provisions Supporting the Application 150 Chinese Regulations 150 Emission Regulations 151 The Deployment of Charging Networks 152 Support for Demand 153 Europe–China: Contrasting Modes of Public Intervention 155 Europe: Support for a Gradual Transition That Becomes More Radical after 2015 155 China: The Implementation of an Administered Darwinism 156 Conclusion: Technological Neutrality and Administered Darwinism 158 Chapter 8: The Project as a Means of Strategic and Cultural Integration 160 Project Management and Strategic Alliances 161 Cooperative Innovation Projects: Opportunities and Constraints 161 Inter-firm Cooperation: A Contemporary Necessity for the Growth of Multinationals . . . 162 . . . With Inconclusive Results 163 Project Management: A Forgotten Variable in the Success or Failure of Alliances 163 The Societal Contingency of Management 164 Management of Strategic Complementarities in the K-ZE Project 167 Strategic Cooperation between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng 167 The Project as a Factor in the Integration of Strategic Complementarities 168 Institutional Framework: eGT, Project Operator 168 The Integrative Management of the Team 169 The Key Role of Intervention by Central Entities 170 Demonstrating the Importance of Governance at the Top 170 The Project as a Factor of Cultural Integration: From Initial Stereotypes to Shared Identity 171 The Dynamics of Joint Action in Agile Problem Solving 174 Conclusion: The Project as Generator of a New Identity 175 Chapter 9: Global Innovation Strategies and Lineage Management 178 From Local Innovation to Global Deployment 179 Innovation Deployment and Lineage Management 180 The Accessible Vehicle at Renault, 1945–2021: Four Seasons 181 Season 1: The Small Popular Car, Renault’s DNA 181 Season 2: Twingo, and an Organizational Revolution in Project Management 182 Season 3: Logan, and the Building of the Access Lineage 183 Season 4: Kwid, or the Maturity of the Breakthrough Concept 186 Taking on the New World 187 Spring: Accessible Electric Mobility 188 Continuation of a Strategy Driven by International Growth? 188 From Product Strategy to Mobility Services: Toward a New Lineage? 190 From the Middle of the Pyramid to the Bottom of the Pyramid? 192 Conclusion: Reconciling Local Innovation and Global Deployment 193 Chapter 10: Innovation and Entrepreneurial Capability in Large Companies 194 Introduction 194 An Effectual Growth Strategy 195 Intrapreneurial Capability—The Driving Force behind Program Management 196 Design Performance to Support Entrepreneurial Capability 199 Governance Ambidexterity 201 Conclusion of Part 2: Reenergizing a Large Firm 204 Conclusion 206 Afterword 210 List of Interviewees 212 Glossary 214 Bibliography 216 Index 224 globalization;,product,development;,cross-cultural,management;,electric,veihicles globalization,product development,cross-cultural management,electric veihicles "This book tells the story of a project to develop a low-cost electric car, a goal previously considered impossible. An adventure in management and technical innovation, the project was a breakthrough in cultural innovation as it brought together French, Japanese, Indian, and Chinese organizations to deliver a car for the European market"-- Provided by publisher