How Shell’s Domains Link Innovation and Strategy

This article describes the steps Shell managers took to keep their innovation innovative after the original establishment of the GameChanger system, by setting up its ‘innovation coalition’ as a network in its own right, and by reorganising its portfolio of 85 projects into a half-dozen ‘domains’. We offer evidence that designing and implementing its domain approach enhanced the productivity and symbiosis of Shell’s innovation efforts, and use ‘Actor Network Theory’ – a conceptual framework extensively used in science and technology studies – to explain how this success was achieved. Domains not only link strategy and technology; but also marry up ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ innovations and connect the shorter with the longer term. The article’s consideration of domains renders the notion of ANT analyses more accessible and relevant for long term strategy professionals, as well as making some of the specific lessons Shell derived from its experience more widely available for application elsewhere.