Lan TAO, a doctoral student in CTM, has been working in the field of Innovation Management. His research topic is "Developing a framework for depicting the radical innovation process in established firms". The research outcome consists of the stabilised framework Version 4.0 which defines and depicts the radical innovation process, and subsidiary findings which include the motivations to pursue radical innovation, the use of independent organisations to manage radical innovation and the key enablers in the process. The outcome extends and enriches relevant innovation literature. It also provides a basis on which managers in established firms may build if they seek to develop improved approaches to the implementation of radical innovation.

On 29th Nov 2010, Lan successfully defended his PhD dissertation. After the viva, he presented his work at a research seminar on 3rd Dec 2010. Further details on his research and publications are available on his web page.

Lan's work formed part of the IPGC (Innovation Productivity Grand Challenge) project and the EIP (Emerging Industries Programme). During 2006 and 2009, he participated in conducting case studies with established firms across a variety of sectors. The studies were focused on how established firms foster and develop radical innovations. A number of these case studies have been used in his PhD dissertation.