Leading Innovation - 2nd Edition

Reviewed by Jessica Murfin, Instructor, Western Oregon University on 12/6/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The subject matter is addressed comprehensively with enough detail for introductory purposes.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is presented in an unbiased way with relevant examples and interactive activities.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is clearly presented throughout in a format that will be easy to update as needed. Sections are clearly delineated and well organized for ease of editing and readability.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is well-written, accessible, and engaging. Examples are relevant and illustrative of their associated concepts. Additional links are provided throughout should one be interested in exploring more information. Activities and videos are also linked to further support understanding and knowledge acquisition.

Consistency rating: 5

The text has strong internal consistency throughout with each chapter and section having a similar layout.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter is very well laid out with learning outcomes at the beginning, clearly labeled sections, interactive activities, additional resources for further learning, and end-of-chapter exercises. The Pressbooks online version of the text contains chapters that could easily be linked in any order within an existing course structure to supplement and enhance learning as desired. Videos, images, and the use of color blocks throughout create an aesthetically pleasing, accessible, and engaging experience for the reader. The PDF version of the text is similar but lacks the embedded videos (it does include direct links to them) and cannot be broken up and linked in sections or a different order but is still in an aesthetically pleasing and accessible format.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are organized in a way that is logically sequential. Content builds throughout, moving from introductory to more complex concepts.

Interface rating: 4

The Pressbooks version is vastly superior in terms of the ability to link directly to specific chapters and contains embedded videos and interactive elements making navigation simple and streamlined, but the PDF version also provides a pleasing and easily navigable interface with links out to the Pressbooks site for students to explore the interactive elements as desired.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text contains a few minor typos or formatting errors, but these do not significantly detract from the quality of the content.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text draws on a wide variety of examples across disciplines and industries. While geared more toward the business sector, the content can be relevant in other domains as well.

Comments

I'm excited to see a book like this in the OER commons and I appreciate the hard work that went into creating it!

Reviewed by Sibin Wu, Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 5/8/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers majority of the key concepts and theories. It would be great if some of new trendy innovations are also discussed. For example, financial innovation such as crowdfunding should be included given that financial constraints are one of the most barriers to innovations.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The text gives a good explanation for each of the important topics. Some improvement may be used to give more accurate information. For example, in addition to radical innovation and incremental innovation, architectural and modular are often used together. So including the two latter two types of innovations can give student learners a full and more accurate picture.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

It seems that there have been several updates for the book already with the latest in July last year 2023. The inclusion of AI is another indicator of the author's author to make the text relevant.

Clarity rating: 4

All key concepts are well explained and in a simple way for students to understand. It is easy to read the text. But some contexts may be useful. For example, when explaining disruptive innovation, Christensen's The innovator's dilemma can be introduced so that students who are interested in further learning about disruptive innovation may check out the book. Similarly when talking about incremental and radical, Handerson and Clark's typology could be cited.

Consistency rating: 5

The author did a great job in maintaining consistency. The structure of each chapter is very similar. And use of key terms are consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easy to read. Lots of bullet points. Description and explanation of key terms are also short and concise. The students may feel like going through a lecture or presentation.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Well organized text. Each chapter is organized consistently and logically. It has a nice flow to it. For example, creativity is presented at the individual and team level. For each level, practices and means to enhance creativity are presented. Barriers at team level and personal level are also discussed.

Interface rating: 5

While some of the pictures (e.g., service innovation exercise, hair salon picture) may not be necessary, overall the text is an easy read with minimum confusion or distraction.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Excellent

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I don't see issues here.

Reviewed by Stephanie Moran, Director of Adult Studies, Anderson University on 2/13/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text covers a lot of ideas and theories relative to innovation. It is a great overview, and provides some stimulating reflection, but doesn't go deep into each concept.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The concepts covered are very indicative of common presentation of the idea. Citations and substantiated and contributions of others are well recognized.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text has very current ideas and concepts. The text is easily supplemented with other free and open resources to connect the context with real world application.

Clarity rating: 5

Very easy to read. Comfortable amount of work with each chapter. Relevant speech and explanations. Nicely connected with other online resources and print material.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is very consistent with terminology and framework, although the ideas aren't explored in depth. Most of the ideas are consistently presented, but maybe not as thorough as one might want in an advanced course.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is very engaging. There are many types of exercises that provide provoking responses and direct applications. This makes it easy to organize sections and also provide a ramp to more technical or comprehensive assignments.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I really enjoyed the format of the text. I get excited when I discover a resource that I think students will enjoy and feel connected to as a part of the course learning. This is one of the resources. It covers a lot of ground, but is not overwhelming or sterile in presentation and content delivery. You can lay the chapters into modules and depending on whether you use an accelerated or traditional format, you can enhance and supplement the material with additional outside media without overwhelming students.

Interface rating: 5

This text was easy to progress through. It was organized in a way that provided easy navigation. With links, pictures, bullet points, and references, it was an entertaining and engaging read without feeling chaotic are hard to follow.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar was very professional, but casual in context. If you are looking for something very "scholarly" and academic in style, this might not be as pleasing for you. With the students that I am teaching in the adult program, they are looking for applicable learning with text that they can integrate into professional conversation. This works wonderfully for that purpose.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found no cultural offenses. I am pretty sensitive about cultural offenses, and I found the text to be a pleasure and applicable to students from any culture and at all levels of innovation exploration.

Comments

I was hoping to find a new and engaging text on this list that would satisfy course content needs but also be engaging to students. This text was a delightful surprise for me. It provided me plenty to build on while also allowing me opportunity to supplement with meaning media to individualize it for this set of students. I am hopeful to do a full course redesign with this text as a significant piece of inspiration.