T3 Podcast | Technological Innovation as a Competitive Tool - Serdar Gürbüz

The podcast, which begins with Serdar Gürbüz’s career background and his definition of innovation management, focuses on the role of digital innovation in corporate entrepreneurship and global competition.

A graduate of Industrial Engineering at Boğaziçi University, Serdar Gürbüz began his career in startups and later held innovation management positions at major institutions such as Turkish Airlines. He defines the role of an innovation manager as guiding companies through the continuous process of renewing their business models, products and services to remain viable. Digital innovation, he explains, is a field focused on finding solutions that reduce costs, increase revenue or enhance customer experience through innovative technologies.

The aviation industry has undergone significant transformation through digitalization, with every stage—from ticket purchasing and boarding passes to in-flight services and baggage tracking—now digitized. To gain a competitive edge, airlines must continuously reduce costs and improve customer experience using digital technologies.

Drawing from Peter Drucker’s identification of marketing and innovation as the two fundamental functions of a company, Gürbüz emphasizes that during digital transformation, companies must focus on marketing, products, services and human resources. Companies must conduct a “self-X-ray” by analyzing competitors to identify opportunities and gaps, and then develop a strategic innovation plan.

Innovation teams do not implement all innovations within a company on their own. Instead, they build the necessary infrastructure to enable other departments to contribute to innovation. They monitor emerging technologies, conduct small-scale pilot projects and initiate the first steps of scaling successful initiatives across the entire organization. These teams focus on testing solutions that deliver maximum value with minimal effort.

The potential for internal innovations to become entrepreneurial ventures depends on the company’s objectives. Solutions that create new business models can be structured under a separate corporate umbrella, unlike those designed to improve existing operations. Corporate entrepreneurship programs must align with company goals and address uncertainties related to employees’ careers, resources and risk management. While flexible models like those at Google are harder to apply in traditional sectors, the podcast emphasizes that tailored models adapted to each industry can achieve success.

Gürbüz underscores that technology is the most critical parameter in the global race for economic development. When companies generate added value through digital innovation and gain competitive advantage, they directly contribute to Türkiye’s National Technology Initiative. For Türkiye to achieve technological independence and excel in global competition, the digital transformation and innovation efforts of national companies are of vital importance.