This week we will be working on a case study about innovation and change:

CASE STUDY:

Garmin began in $1998$ by introducing the Garmin StreetPilot. By $2007,$ Garmin$$s $40$ GPS devices for vehicles had grown into a $$2\mathrm{.}3$ billion business. But later that year, Apple announced the iPhone, which came pre$-$loaded with Google Maps and a basic location technology $($GPS chips were added in $2008),$ and the StreetPilot was suddenly obsolete. Garmin pivoted to wearable GPS devices by producing the innovative Garmin Forerunner GPS$-$tracking watch for runners in $2003.$ However, lightning struck a second time when Apple introduced the Apple Watch in $2015.$ Today, Apple Watch sales account for roughly $10\%$ of Apple$$s profits and $$21$ billion a year in annual revenue.

Question: If you were Garmin$$s CEO, what would you do$?$

Following are questions to help guide your thinking. However, you do not need to respond to all of the questions.

Key Issues: Competitive advantage via innovation or cost cutting, transformational innovation vs$.$ incremental improvements, and internal product development vs$.$ acquisitions for innovation.

Guiding Questions:

When it comes to wearables, should Garmin try to $$out$-$Apple$$ the Apple Watch through innovation?

Should it compete with the Apple Watch by cutting costs and prices?

How can Garmin create a competitive advantage for itself in the growing wearable$$s market that is predicted to reach $$20$ billion this year?

Should Garmin continue to shoot for transformational ideas and technologies that are quantum improvements over today$$s technology? Or$,$ should it strive for incremental improvements in existing technologies?

How much should Garmin rely on acquisitions for innovation?

Should it acquire half, one$-$third, $10$ percent, or $5$ percent of its new products through acquisitions?

What makes the most sense and why?