LI 2021 Third Call

Pagina 1

L&I - Third Call August 30th A.Y. 2020-2021 - Innovation - 1. What is innovation What we test: The following question is intended to test the student's knowledge of the main innovation strategies and frameworks explained in class (Invention vs Innovation and effect of innovation on the firm competences). Rens is a Finnish brand that produced the world's first sneaker with coffee grounds and recycled plastic. The Helsinki-based brand won the 2021 “Reddot Award for Outstanding Product Design” for their innovative coffee sneakers. Rens' coffee sneakers debute d in the summer of 2019 and soon became Finland's most successful Kickstarter campaign to date and the largest fashion crowdfunding campaign in the Nordics: in just under 45 days, Rens had sold over half a million of sneakers to thousands of customers worldwide. To make such shoes, they use coffee grounds from about 21 cups of coffee per shoe. Materials made from coffee grounds have many advantages - they are odor -resistant, antibacterial, sustainable, offer UV protection and dry twice as fast as conventional polyester, for example. The sales have been outstanding, and the community of buyers commented very positively on their experience with the shoes. According to the information provided, Rens’ coffee sneakers can be seen as: A. A radical innovation, because the shoes use materials never used in the shoe market to dramatically improve the performances of existing features (e.g. odor resistance). B. An invention, because Rens has invented a new kind of shoes with materials never used before C. A competence destroying innovation for the customers because they completely change the way to use sneakers. D. A market-pull innovation, as the proposed innovation meets the strong market request for sustainability. Justify…