San Francisco Seminar 2008
Day 4
Commercializing Innovation – From Research to Global Market
Introduction and context
The fourth day of the seminar marked a clear highlight of the San Francisco program.
Here, the perspective shifted from technology and digital solutions to the commercialization of innovation – how ideas, research and technology turn into real products, services and markets.
Through contributions from Oxford, Santa Clara University, IBM Almaden, Innovation Norway and Linden Lab, participants gained insight into both academic models, business practices and Nordic innovation culture.
The common thread of the day was the connection between research, entrepreneurship and customer experience – and how this must be seen as one ecosystem.
"Innovating is not just creating something new – it's making it accessible and valuable to others."
Program overview
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Day 4 – April 3, 2008 - Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Haas School of Business
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Jonathan Reynolds - Omnichannel Retailing and the Future of Commerce
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Dr. Kirthi Kalyanam – Online-Influenced Retail Sales and the New Consumer Journey
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Erik Klein & Curtis Ryan (IBM Almaden Research Center) – From Multichannel to Cross-Channel: A Business Transformation
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Glenn Fisher (Linden Lab) – Second Life as a Platform for Innovation and Interaction
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Svein-Egil Nielsen (Innovation Norway) – Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Policy – The Norwegian Perspective
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Filip Gordon (BI) – Scandinavian Innovation Ecosystems and Trust-Based Models
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Main academic topics
From multichannel to omnichannel
IBM Almaden and Oxford showed how the term “multichannel” in the 2000s was first about presence in multiple channels – but without integration. The new term cross-channel retailing implied interaction, not just parallel operation.
IBM presented its Multi-Channel Roadmap, built on four Cs:
Choice, Consistency, Context, Continuity.
This became an early definition of what we now call omnichannel retail. Jonathan Reynolds from Oxford pointed to the need to move from distribution logic to experience logic – seeing value from the customer’s perspective, not the chain’s.
Online-influenced commerce
Dr. Kirthi Kalyanam from Santa Clara University presented his findings on online-influenced retail sales – that is, physical commerce that starts digitally. As early as 2008, his data showed that between 32 and 36% of all retail sales were influenced by online information, and that the figure would rise to 38% by 2012 (Forrester Research).
He also showed how Cyber Monday had changed consumer behavior and documented early patterns in the search-to-store cycle. The concepts of conversion, retention, and acquisition were presented as cornerstones of the digital value chain.
From technology to organization
Curtis Ryan and Erik Klein (IBM) discussed how IT structure and organizational development must be aligned to realize the value of new channels. Companies that continued to operate in silos were achieving only a fraction of their potential.
The path went from siloed → matrixed → integrated multi-channel organization.
Innovation through virtual worlds
Glenn Fisher of Linden Lab introduced Second Life as a platform for innovation, simulation, and branding. Over 45,000 businesses were then operating profitably in the Second Life universe—everything from education and recruitment to product design and digital prototyping. He described how virtual arenas can foster creative interaction and experimentation without physical constraints.
"Second Life is not about escaping reality – it's about amplifying it."
Norwegian innovation in a global perspective
Svein-Egil Nielsen from Innovation Norway gave an inspiring presentation about how Norway and the Nordic region can use their size and trust as an advantage.
He highlighted the link between entrepreneurship, politics and access to capital, and how collaboration between business, academia and government can create global innovations.
The Scandinavian model
Filip Gordon from BI presented findings from Scandinavian cases, highlighting service innovation, digital transformation and trust as key factors. He described how trust enables fast decisions, flat structures and a culture of sharing – thereby making innovation easier to scale.
Case studies
IBM Almaden / Retailer Transformation
Cross-channel customer experience: 12% increase in customer loyalty and 18% higher average shopping cart.
Second Life / Global Brands
Virtual test environments used by Cisco, IBM and Philips for product development and internal training.
Innovation Norway / Norway as a test arena
Small markets provide room for rapid experimentation and international learning.
Reflections and discussion:
The discussions that day were both academic and philosophical:
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How is value creation actually defined in a digital world?
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What role do trust and social structure play in innovation capacity?
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How can organizations learn faster – not just develop faster?
It became clear that innovation does not occur in isolation, but in interaction between research, business and culture.
International perspectives
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USA: Technology-driven innovation and commercialization through venture capital.
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Europe: Customer-oriented strategies and public interaction.
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The Nordic countries: Trust, equality and cooperation as competitive advantages.
This day clearly demonstrated that global competitiveness is as much about organizational values and culture as it is about technology and capital.
What did we take home with us?
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Innovation must be user-oriented, measurable and interdisciplinary.
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The transition from multichannel to omnichannel was already underway.
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Virtual environments opened up new spaces for experimentation and collaboration.
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Scandinavian innovation models show that trust and collaboration create momentum.
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Norway can use its size and openness as a strategic advantage in global innovation.
Relevance today
Many of the findings from 2008 are the basis for today's strategy in both the private and public sectors:
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Customer journey mapping builds directly on Reynolds and Kalyanam.
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IBM Almaden's model lives on in omnichannel architecture and CRM solutions.
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Innovation Norway still uses the principle of “Norway as a test arena”.
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Virtual ecosystems have found successors in the metaverse and immersive collaboration.
Day 4 therefore stands as a milestone – where technology, strategy and culture were connected into a holistic view of innovation.
Peder Inge Furseth
Peder Inge Furseth was a central academic driving force behind the San Francisco seminars and helped make the meeting with Silicon Valley relevant for Norwegian and European businesses. Through his role as professor at BI and as academic director of the program, he helped the participants put the lectures into a larger context – where technology, innovation, business development and people had to be seen in context.
In San Francisco, participants met entrepreneurs, researchers, technology leaders and investors from some of the world's most innovative environments. Furseth's strength was his ability to connect these experiences to practical challenges and opportunities in Norwegian businesses. He helped translate Silicon Valley's ideas and working methods into a Nordic context where collaboration, trust and long-term value creation are strong.
Throughout the entire seminar series, he was an important bridge builder between research, business and technology. For many participants, he therefore became more than a professional leader – he also became a mentor who inspired new thinking about innovation, digitalization and commercialization.
Read more about Peder Inge Furseth here
From studies and seminars to today's professional universe
The studies, seminars and field trips documented on this page are part of the knowledge base behind The Invisible Capital. Topics such as customers, technology, innovation, digitalization and value creation have followed developments over several decades – but the disciplines have also continued to develop.
At The Invisible Capital, we are therefore continuing to work on these questions in our own subject series. Here, we connect previous theory, research and experiences with newer knowledge, new technologies and today's challenges for people and businesses.
Innovation
Innovation is not just about new ideas. Value is created when knowledge, technology and ideas are developed into products, services, processes, organizational forms and business models that are actually used. The series on innovation goes from Schumpeter to modern innovation research and covers, among other things, incremental, radical, disruptive, open and user-driven innovation.
→ Explore the Innovation Series
The customer
The customer is not just the recipient of what the business produces. In a competitive market, the customer is a crucial determinant of whether the business actually succeeds in creating value. The series about the customer goes deeper into customer orientation, customer insight, customer experience, satisfaction, loyalty, trust and the encounter between people.
→ Read the customer series
Value creation
What does it really mean to create value – and who creates it? The series on value creation moves from economic theory and key researchers to a broader understanding of how people, expertise, institutions, businesses and the public sector contribute to value creation.
→ Read the series on value creation
Digitization
Digitalization has evolved from stand-alone technologies to a fundamental part of how businesses work and create value. The Digitalization from A–Z series follows developments through internet, web, e-commerce, search, UX, social, mobile, omnichannel, cloud, data, platforms and digital transformation – up to today’s AI First developments.
→ Read the series Digitization from A–Z
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence represents the next chapter in digital evolution. In our own AI universe, we investigate how artificial intelligence works, how AI finds and uses information, how it evaluates sources and websites, and what the development can mean for people, businesses, and value creation.
→ Go to the articles about artificial intelligence
Recommended literature
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chris Anderson explains how the internet and digital platforms enable profitability through niche products, search, and digital distribution. The book shows how companies like Amazon and Netflix build value through vast digital product ranges and specialized interests.
The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Content Marketing, AI, Social Media, Podcasting, Video, and Newsjacking to Reach Buyers Directly
David Meerman Scott shows how the internet, digital channels, and social media have transformed marketing, customer dialogue, and commerce. The book explains how businesses must think holistically around customer journeys, content, and digital relationships to succeed in an increasingly interconnected economy.
