Royal Dutch Shell Strategic Management and Leadership Analysis

【Abstract】Royal Dutch Shell plc is a multinational Anglo–Dutch oil and gas company incorporated in the UK and headquartered in the Netherlands. Shell is one of the largest worldwide company in the field of oil and gas. All Shell operations concentrate on observing the principles of business, like competition, economic, health safety environment and security that aim contribute to long-term development of the company and the society.

【Key words】Leadership; Innovation; Value Chain

【作者簡介】李莎(1990.02-)，女，西安欧亚学院，助教，研究生。

Shells Innovation Strategy

The traditional innovation approach has always depended on the internal resources of organizations themselves. Innovation approach is thus secretive to avoid competitors “steal” ideas aiming to protect intellectual property. This “closed” innovation contrasts against the newer “open-mode” innovation. Open innovation involves the deliberate knowledge import and export by company aiming to enhance, protect and accelerate its innovation (Johnson, Whittington & Scholes, 2011).

The open innovation adoption in which organizations implement resources from internal and external to drive innovation processes, is considered by numerous contemporary companies as a method to enhance innovation capabilities. It identified four typical approaches of open innovation adoption: precursor open innovation adopters, open innovation conscious adopters, ad-hoc practice and open innovation practice communities. It states two main opening innovation transactions benefits, which might drive different adoption strategies of opening innovation: pecuniary and indirect benefits.

Shell spending $1.3bn on R&D and employing 92,000 people need to go outside for more innovation. The reason is one of the Open Innovation classic foundations. Shell understands that, there are more smart technologies and people in the external world that could add value to Shells innovation portfolio despite the internal presence excellence.

The open innovation paradigm suggests companies apply both internal and external ideas to improve and innovate (Enkel, Gassmann & Chesbrough, 2009). There are some key pillars under Shell open innovation toolkit which consist of GameChanger, Technology Ventures and TechWorks. GameChanger works at “the blue-sky phase” which is the early stage of development. It welcomes various ideas from all around the world, from individuals and startups to produce a concept proof. Next on Shells open innovation toolkit is Technology Ventures. They adopt solar power aiming to heat water and achieve steam, and then injects it into wells to heat viscous crude and make it more easily to flow. At the end of Shells open innovation toolkit development is TechWorks. The project focus on three main areas: seismic acquisition, the advanced application of sensor and automation. They also expect bringing different robots that operate in space to Earth through TechWorks Boston innovation centre.