New Macquarie Business School research shows CEOs turn to their Chief Technology Officers—not their marketing gurus—when faced with radical innovation decisions.
New Macquarie Business School research shows CEOs turn to their Chief Technology Officers—not their marketing gurus—when faced with radical innovation decisions.
When Apple released its Vision Pro glasses in 2023, the underwhelming response was an outlier for the groundbreaking company.
While the technology was impressive, Apple CEO Tim Cook overlooked crucial customer insights—beyond the high price—including people’s reluctance to wear bulky facial devices for long periods.
What became a US$1.4 billion misstep for Apple is a lesson for every business. For CEOs, the stakes are high: invest in the wrong project and millions can be lost, but miss the right bet and competitors surge ahead.
Australia’s push to diversify beyond mining and commodities requires companies to embrace riskier forms of innovation. Radical innovation—the kind that creates new markets, products or technologies—is notoriously difficult.
A new Macquarie Business School study of more than 500 CEOs and business owners reveals who leaders turn to when the path ahead is unclear. The findings are published in the journal Research Policy.
The study found a striking pattern: when faced with technological uncertainty, CEOs overwhelmingly backed the advice of their CTOs. But when market conditions were unclear, they didn’t consistently rely on their CMOs.
