Innovation Management at Deliveroo and the Contribution of IPF to Company's Sustainability

INNOVATION MANAGEMENT AT DELIVEROO
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Contents | Deliveroo: An Overview | Mission and Values | Business Model | Main Activities | Drivers of Innovation at Deliveroo | Customer Demand | Organizational Leadership | Technology|Environmental Uncertainty | Application of the Innovation Pentathlon Framework to Deliveroo | Ideas Generation | Prioritization and Selection of Ideas | Implementation | Innovation Strategy PAGEREF _Toc89214806 \h 12People and Organizational Management | Contribution of Innovation to Deliveroo’s Overall Sustainability | Market and Revenue Growth | Cost-Leadership | Conclusion | References 
Innovation Management at Deliveroo
           Innovation plays a significant role in the success and sustainability of organizations. According to Krasnicka et al. (2016, p. 6), innovation has become a source of competitive advantage for many organizations because it facilitates service/product and business processes improvement, thereby creating sustainable value for various stakeholders. Many businesses are incorporating innovation as part of their corporate culture. This has necessitated effective management of innovation to ensure that organizations derive maximum value from their innovations once they have been released into the market (Goffin and Mitchel, 2017, p. 16). This report examines the management of innovation at Deliveroo. Specifically, the report briefly introduces Deliveroo and then identifies key drivers of innovation in the organization. It also analyzes Deliveroo’s approaches to innovation management using the Innovation Pentathlon Framework (IPF) and assesses the contribution of innovation to Deliveroo’s sustainability. 
Deliveroo: An Overview
           Deliveroo is a UK-based online food delivery company that was founded in 2013. It is headquartered in London, and its goal is to deliver food to customers within the shortest time possible (Deliveroo, n.d.-a). To facilitate the achievement of this goal, Deliveroo is continuously innovating and relying on new technologies. For instance, it is currently relying on Machine Learning predictive technology to estimate the time needed to prepare a meal (Deliveroo, n.d.-a.). This ensures that they can streamline the process from the time the customer makes an order to when the order is delivered directly to the customer. 
Mission and Values
           Deliveroo’s mission is to create a definitive online food company and become the platform that people go to when they want food. To achieve this, the company has been focusing on flawlessly delivering the right food on time. It is also guided by the following values (Deliveroo, n.d.-a.):
* Customer-Oriented
* Relentless
* Delivering results
* Simplifying 
* Thinking big 
* Team success
* Frugality
* Celebrating differences
* Embracing change
Business Model
           Deliveroo has adopted an on-demand business model (Deliveroo, n.d.). This has ensured that customers have access to the best food on demand within the shortest time possible. Deliveroo’s delivery time has been cut by 20% to ensure that customers receive their orders in less than 30 minutes (Deliveroo, n.d.-a.). In addition, the company utilizes a virtual restaurant business model, which is an innovation it is referring to as Deliveroo Editions. According to Bell (2019), the virtual restaurant model is a delivery-only service provider that relies on online food orders. By using this model, Deliveroo plans on cutting down food costs by almost 50%. However, they need to focus more on new technology and innovation, including business model innovation (Bell, 2019), to benefit from the virtual model fully.
Main Activities
           Deliveroo’s key activity is food delivery. It connects customers to local restaurants and uses riders to deliver food from the restaurants directly to the customer. It also operates delivery-only kitchens. These kitchens, known as Deliveroo Editions, ensure that customers have access to cuisines and menus that were otherwise unavailable locally (Deliveroo, n.d.-b.). The company brings new restaurants to customers based on demand using Deliveroo Editions. 
Drivers of Innovation at Deliveroo
           Innovation is a complex undertaking, and for companies to successfully become innovative, they need to embrace a culture of innovation. However, they also need to consider the factors that drive the need or opportunities for innovation. Both internal and external factors can drive innovation. According to Damanpour (2020, p. 171), the internal factors that drive innovation include organizational culture, learning, and leadership. Organizational culture refers to the values, beliefs, and practices that members of an organization share. Some organizational cultures drive innovation while others do not. For instance, an adhocracy culture drives innovation because it facilitates flexibility and identifying and implementing new opportunities and ideas (Damanpour, 2020, p. 173). When employees are encouraged to share new ideas and perspectives, this can drive innovation at the workplace. Organizational learning drives innovation by creating new knowledge bases for organizations. Such knowledge is used to develop new technologies and innovative approaches in product/service development and business process efficiency (Damanpour, 2020, p. 178). When new knowledge is acquired and shared amongst members of an organization, it becomes possible to develop new ideas to solve existing problems. Organizational leadership drives innovation in two ways; one, it creates an organizational culture/climate that facilitates innovation and creativity. Two, it ensures an effective innovation strategy that will not only drive innovation but also ensure the company implements innovative ideas (Damanpour, 2020, p. 175). Organizational leaders set the tone and facilitate innovation by showing a commitment to innovative practices. 
           External factors that drive innovation include government, competitors, customers, and supplier pressure (Tesfaye and Kitaw, 2018, p. 100). Governments can use regulations to drive innovation in specific industries. For instance, Armstrong et al. (2020) indicate that the UK government can drive firm innovation by setting regulatory challenges that will require firms to develop innovative solutions. It can also support firms that are testing new innovations. Competition forces firms to develop new and more efficient ways of doing business to stay ahead, thus driving innovation (Tesfaye and Kitaw, 2018). Pressure from customers and suppliers can also drive innovation by demanding certain products and efficient supply chain processes. These factors force organizations to develop innovative solutions or adopt innovation just to survive in an ever-changing business environment. Damanpour (2020, p. 162) also indicates that technology, as well as environmental uncertainty, are some of the external factors that drive innovation. Firms that operate in technologically intense industries are forced to develop innovative ideas or new technologies to survive constantly. Environmental uncertainty forces firms to develop new innovations to deal with the uncertainty. 
           Deliveroo has developed and adopted innovation to stay ahead of competitors and provide excellent online delivery services to customers. Below are the major drivers, which have influenced the need/opportunity for innovation in Deliveroo
Customer Demand
           As indicated earlier, customer pressure is one of the factors driving firm innovation (Tesfaye and Kitaw, 2018, p. 100). Customers put pressure on businesses to generate and/or adopt innovation by demanding products or services. If the products do not exist, businesses have to develop innovative ways of creating the products. If the products exist, businesses have to come up with innovative ways to deliver those products/improved products to customers. Deliveroo’s innovation was driven by customers’ demand for cuisines that are not locally available. It introduced its Deliveroo Editions innovation to meet the demand for locally unavailable cuisines (Deliveroo, n.d.-a.). This innovation allows new restaurants to set up in local areas to meet the demand for locally unavailable cuisines. According to a report by KPMG (2016), one of the key trends driving innovation in the restaurant industry has been an increasing demand for global or ethnic cuisines. The report revealed that at least 80% of consumers enjoy ethnic cuisine every month. As such, there has been a need to introduce more global or ethnic cuisines, and Deliveroo created Deliveroo Editions just for that purpose; bring new cuisines in local areas to meet this demand. 
Organizational Leadership
           Deliveroo’s leadership can be considered visionary. First, its founder and current chief executive officer, Will Shu, started the company as an innovative solution to fill an existing gap. After settling in London, he soon realized that although there were many restaurants in the city, very few delivered food to customers (Deliveroo, n.d.-a). He established the company to provide food delivery services in a short time while ensuring that consumers could use their phones to track the progress of their orders. Second, he has created an environment that allows for innovative ideas to be generated and executed. According to Damanpour (2020, p. 171), organizational leadership creates a conducive environment for innovation. Deliveroo Editions as innovation has been generated and executed because its leadership has created the right innovation climate and has set the tone that it is committed to innovation. 
Technology
           Technology, as mentioned earlier, is a significant driver of innovation. Companies in technologically intense industries are forced to be innovative (Damanpour, 2020, p. 162). In addition, the emergency of new technologies also drives innovation. Specifically, embracing technology can drive firm innovation. For instance, Deliveroo has embraced technologies, which allowed it to provide innovative solutions to existing problems. It uses Machine Learning technology to predict how long it will take to prepare a customer’s meal (Deliveroo, n.d.-a). Machine Learning is an existing technology that Deliveroo has embraced to create innovative solutions such as timely food delivery (Deliveroo, n.d.-b.). In addition, Deliveroo is also considering other emerging technologies which will further drive its innovation. According to Thomas (2018, p. 6), Deliveroo is considering using robotics in its delivery-only kitchens to enhance efficiency in labor and other delivery processes. The use of robotics will also enhance its Deliveroo Editions innovation by automating certain processes. ...