---
id: "prereq-corporate-innovation-structures"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["¶5"]
tags: ["organizational-design"]
related: ["claim-formal-structure-insufficient", "contrarian-structure-vs-trust"]
reason: "Necessary to understand the baseline 'structural' approach that the 'bridger' concept is meant to improve upon."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
source_title: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-102-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceTitle: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
---
# Understanding of corporate innovation structures

**Prerequisite knowledge:** The text assumes the reader understands standard corporate attempts at innovation — **cross-functional teams, innovation labs, project managers, and IP agreements** — in order to grasp why the authors argue these formal structures are insufficient on their own.

**Why it matters:** It establishes the baseline 'structural' approach that the [[concept-bridger|bridger]] concept improves upon, and is the setup for the [[claim-formal-structure-insufficient|formal-structure-insufficient claim]] and the [[contrarian-structure-vs-trust|contrarian]].