Innovation Processes In Companies Research Articles

Packaging innovation scorecard

AbstractInnovation literature shows that the characteristics of a company's innovation processes determine their performance in different areas. In this study, we adopt a general conceptual model from innovation theory and apply it to packaging innovation. This helps identify and describe subprocesses in packaging innovation and how to measure their performance. It also links the packaging innovation process to the cost and climate performance of packaging. Based on the modified model for packaging innovation, the purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a scorecard for assessing the packaging innovation process.The first step in the methodology was the conceptual development of a model describing the packaging innovation process and a scorecard for assessing this process. The second step was to demonstrate and validate the scorecard in a case study covering packaging innovation at a major retail company. Data were captured from six semi‐structured interviews and two workshops, as well as observations and site visits.The conceptual model defines packaging innovation using seven interrelated subprocesses and their impacts on cost and climate performance. The scorecard that was developed in the research study describes how to measure the subprocesses and their output. The quality of each of the seven processes is measured on two to four dimensions. Each dimension can reach a score of one to four, where each score is clearly defined.The case study showed that the scorecard seems to be an effective way of measuring the complex packaging innovation process and identifying concrete ways to improve packaging innovation. The case study validated the scorecard and demonstrated how it can be applied. The application also showed how the case company performs in packaging innovation compared to best practice in each subprocess. The validation showed that the scorecard is sufficiently functional and useful, although it requires input from multiple sources. The usability could only be partly assessed—it showed promising value as a basis for formulating action plans—but future studies should validate the scorecard's long‐term usefulness in creating action plans and assess their impact.The theoretically‐based scorecard is novel in terms of assessing packaging innovation and its impact on packaging performance in supply chains. It links the packaging innovation process to performance and helps companies identify improvement possibilities. The paper shows how the scorecard helps address packaging issues strategically by measuring the activities conducted in the packaging innovation process. One limitation of the study is that the long‐term usefulness of the scorecard could not be validated, as the validation would take longer than the time available for this study.

Barrier Factors Model of Innovation Process in the Furniture Industry Supply Chain (Case Study at PT. Duwa Atmimuda)

PT. Duwa Atmimuda is a company engaged in manufacturing in producing stainless metal products and furniture frames. PT. Duwa Atmimuda is experiencing problems with the lack of application of technology in terms of marketing, seen from the absence of social media utilization, causing the company to find it difficult to expand market share. This study aims to identify the factors that hinder the company's innovation process using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method and classify the model using MICMAC Analysis. The results showed that the ISM model of the barrier factor for the innovation process in the furniture industry supply chain has 6 levels. After the ISM model is obtained, the next process is to classify each variable indicator on the barrier factors of the innovation process with the help of MICMAC analysis. There are 4 classification clusters, the first cluster (autonomous indicators) has one indicator. While in the second cluster (dependent indicators) there is one indicator. In the third cluster (linkage indicators) there are 9 indicators. In the fourth cluster (independent indicators) there is one indicator. The third cluster (linkage indicators) is the highest cluster of indicator spreads where this indicator has high control and dependence. The conclusion of this study is that there are 12 inhibiting factors in the innovation process which are arranged into six levels of the ISM model and in the MICMAC analysis the third cluster is the highest distribution cluster.

Crowdsourcing a wellspring of value co-creation: an integration of social capital and organisational learning mechanisms

PurposeWith the advent of Internet technologies, shorter product life cycles and increasing competition, organisations have started looking for innovation sources outside the organisational boundaries. The external community of crowds can be used as a valuable source of co-creation in a company's innovation process to generate value. Despite its growing popularity, organisations often face difficulty capturing value from crowdsourcing due to the lack of proper mechanisms behind crowdsourcing-based value co-creation between a crowd and an organisation and their impact on organisational learning and innovation performance. The present study seeks to understand the crowdsourcing-based co-creation mechanism that influences knowledge transfer effectiveness and the organisation's absorptive capacity, resulting in improved innovation performance.Design/methodology/approachThe model was empirically tested using online survey data received from 300 managers of IT firms. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the model.FindingsThe empirical results reveal that crowdsourcing-based value co-creation causes structural, cognitive and relational linkages between a crowd and a firm, among which crowdsourcing-based cognitive linkage contributes more to organisational value capture. Further, an organisation's effective knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity play an important role in influencing the crowdsourcing-based-co-creation organisational learning-innovation performance framework.Originality/valueThis is the first and foremost study that has developed an integrated model using social capital dimensions to understand the entire mechanism behind crowdsourcing-based value co-creation between a crowd and an organisation and their impact on organisational learning and innovation performance. The study provides organisations with theoretical and practical implications of using crowdsourcing as a value co-creation tool and its effects on enhancing organisational learning and value capture.

Cutting through the Tension and Perception Barriers in Cross-Functional NPD Teams

Although cross-functional new product development (NPD) teams are central to innovation processes in companies, they are often burdened with tensions between colleagues from disparate functions. These tensions can slow down projects, affect the integrity of the team and eventually reduce the likelihood of a positive innovation outcome. Through interviews with 33 cross-functional NPD team members across five different roles (design, engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and project management) within consumer goods/electronics companies in four global innovation hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, Greater Boston area and London), this paper explores the characteristics, interactions and, significantly, the sources of tensions. We focus on professional identities being a precursor to tension and teams. These identities lead to deep divides connected to the strength of the team member’s allegiance to their functional perspective as well as their alignment to team and organizational identities. The findings highlight the interactions of two categories of team members, each with distinctively different professional identities, behaviour, and influences on tensions within teams: (1) those who are strongly aligned with a single functional domain and (2) those that connect across multiple knowledge domains. Highlighting root causes for functional perceptions of colleagues, the paper identifies potential avenues for improving communication and collaboration in cross-functional NPD teams to address ingrained sources of tension.

Identification of knowledge sources for micro- and nanoelectronics technologies

Objectives. Over the past few decades, multiple knowledge management models have been developed by many research groups studying the innovation process in companies. However, these knowledge and information management models are rather general, and do not consider the dynamics and variability of technology development. This implies involving specific organizations in different types of knowledge generation activities. The paper aims to reveal the importance of a knowledge management system in micro- and nanoelectronics technologies as well as identify and systematize the sources of knowledge in the scientific and technical field.Methods. In this paper, the method for analyzing the relationship between key business indicators of the companies is applied. The results are then represented in a causal loop diagram. The stakeholder analysis method is also used here.Results. Three relevant trends in developing the knowledge management system for knowledge-intensive enterprises involved in micro- and nanoelectronics technologies are identified with respect to the social, commercial, and scientific and technical aspects in research organizations. The key sources of knowledge on micro- and nanoelectronics technologies include universities, institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences, industry-specific institutions, customers, manufacturers, and consumers. Also, the authors consider digital twins to be a promising source of knowledge on micro- and nanoelectronics technologies.Conclusions. The analysis of the technology life cycle curve using the example of micro- and nanoelectronics allows correlating single stages of this life cycle with specific activities during which new knowledge is generated. These activities include fundamental and applied research, requirements management, implementation in manufacturing, and operation analysis. For microelectronics, they correspond to the areas of emergence, peak of inflated expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment, and plateau of productivity on the technology life cycle curve.

Innovation of small and medium enterprises in times of Covid-19

Purpose: The study explores how the disruption caused by Covid-19 has influenced the innovativeness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Poland. It aims to show the examples of innovative ideas introduced by SMEs in times of pandemic to overcome the obstacles that appeared due to fluctuations in the demand and supply because of Covid-19. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on a qualitative research design and uses case studies. We chose three small and two medium-sized Polish firms specializing in different business areas for analysis. Findings: The analysed organizations due to Covid-19 introduced innovations mainly focused on IT solutions. All of the firms have begun to offer remote work. Moreover, they implemented a new work organization system and a new customer service system. In all cases, the new solutions will be maintained and developed after the end of the pandemic. Research limitations/implications: The study uses five case studies. Practical implications: The outcomes of the study can motivate entrepreneurs to implement innovations as the case studies may inspire them. Moreover, the successes of presented SMEs may convince entrepreneurs that introducing innovations is not difficult and that the effects of innovative changes are measurable and visible in a short time. Thus, they may be encouraged to take action to overcome obstacles in their surroundings. Originality/value: The study develops the knowledge concerning the innovation process in companies in an uncertain, unstable and unpredictable environment.

A game to teach and apply design thinking for innovation

Objective: Develop and apply a game to facilitate the use of design thinking for innovation.Method: The construction of the game was based upon the Constructivism Theory. The game was developed following the steps of: (i) understanding the target audience and the context; (ii) defining learning objectives; (iii) structuring the experience; (iv) identifying resources and applying gamification elements; (v) evaluation. Originality/Relevance: Design Thinking emerges as an alternative to improve the innovation process in companies. To facilitate this innovation process, this paper presents a game, through its development and application, based on the principles and stages of Design Thinking, focusing on difficulties of its implementation.Results: The game provides an iterative passage through all stages of the design thinking, giving a holistic view of the process, starting with a deep understanding of the problem, and coming to a design solution.Social / management contributions: The results of the game application have shown its potential to: (i) ease teamwork, avoiding negative discussions and providing active participation from all students; (ii) lead to insight generation in a comprehensible way, making clear the difference between insights and ideas; (iii) simplify the use of inspiring methods and techniques (such as Persona, Empathy Map and Napkin Pitch); (iv) develop creative confidence; (v) provide a pleasant and motivating learning environment for collaborative multidisciplinary work.Theoretical/Methodological contributions: The game provides a method for building serious games and the game as a method of applying Design Thinking for Innovation.

PROPOSAL OF A MODEL FOR THE ECO-INNOVATION INTEGRATION INTO THE INNOVATION PROCESS OF COMPANIES IN SLOVAKIA TO INCREASE THEIR PERFORMANCE

The issue of innovations, as well as ecological innovations, is a concept in Slovakia, to which considerable attention is paid because they affect all spheres of society. They relate to production, logistics, sales, and the consumers, who decide on their acceptance on the market. However, the success of innovation in the market depends on several factors that influence the innovation process. They are not just determinants that act pro-innovation and thus support innovation and innovation process. In the innovation process, some factors have the opposite effect and result in forces that suppress the creation of innovation. Therefore, in this article, we focus on mapping the state of pros and cons of innovation forces acting on companies’ innovation process in Slovakia. Based on the above findings, we have identified a large interest in implementing innovations, using an open innovation system to implement innovations and implementing eco-innovation. On the other hand, we have also identified negative factors influencing companies’ innovation process such as lack of financial resources, high bureaucracy, lack of relevant information for creating innovations, low awareness of eco-innovation, etc. Subsequently, based on the findings, we proposed a model for eco-innovation integration into companies’ innovation process in Slovakia, which was the paper’s aim. The proposed model eliminates mainly the negative influencing factors of the innovation process in companies, and at the same time, it should support them for the innovation direction. Implementing the proposed model should lead to an innovation increase in companies, but their positive impact also applies to environmental support and an overall increase in the company´s efficiency in Slovakia.

Innovation and Competitive Intelligence in Business. A Bibliometric Analysis

The business environment of today is complex and dynamic due to increasing global competition. The businessman needs to master and know all the information that has strategic value, and Competitive Intelligence is positioned as the most appropriate tool to achieve this goal. In recent decades, research and publications related to Competitive Intelligence have been increasing, although the military heritage of this field of research and the association with large corporations has meant that the literature is still at an early phase of development and specialisation. This paper analyses scientific articles on Competitive Intelligence from journals in the Web of Science database between 1985 and 2021. The main objective of this research has been to detect the topics that have been most related to Competitive Intelligence. The 589 papers analysed indicate that interest in this topic is relatively recent and that the most central topic in the sample is Innovation. The bibliometric analysis carried out indicates that Competitive Intelligence is closely linked to innovation processes in companies, facilitating its development. Furthermore, it highlights the importance that business management, together with the promotion of absorptive capacity and alignment around Competitive Intelligence will allow companies to improve their competitive advantages, as well as greater success with new products. Little research was found on aspects related to small and medium-sized enterprises and patents in relation to Competitive Intelligence. This research aims to show which are the most researched topics in relation to Competitive Intelligence, so that it can serve as support for future research, as well as for company managers in making decisions in relation to this topic.

Collaboration, competition and innovation: a consortium of tribology in the automotive sector

Abstract Paper aims The collaboration among competitors represents a substantial challenge for most innovation processes of companies. This research aims to explore the factors influencing collaboration for innovation that involves competitors in the Fuzzy Front End phase. Originality This study provides an important advance in three aspects. First, it brings outstanding contributions to the process of generation of ideas and knowledge in a context that involves collaboration and competition simultaneously. In addition, the research examines how this has evolved over time, which were the main difficulties, which were the most significant barriers and necessary efforts to mitigate them. Another important contribution was learning generated on how to work ideas and opportunities in the Fuzzy Front End phase of innovation. Finally, it contributes to the identification of the main roles of Universities in this context. Research method The findings from a detailed case study on a Brazilian University-industry consortium in the automotive sector are presented. Main findings The results indicate a concentration of companies in three main groups with very different operations: the group related to the ring and cylinder lubrificantion system, the automakers and Universities. Implications for theory and practice The main practical and theoretical contributions of this research is exactly the pioneering nature with regard to automakers working collaboratively.

Empirically Testing Factors Increasing Manufacturing Product Innovation Success

Purpose: Important determinants of new product development success fall into five main areas encompassing strategic leadership, competitive intelligence, management of technology, specific characteristics of the company's innovation process, and the company's absorptive capacity to use available knowledge to produce and commercialize new products. Unfortunately the existing knowledge on each of these five areas is not being shared by researchers in the other areas, thus the models are focused on the particular research area. This study tests these constructs as a set of determinants of product innovation success.Design/methodology/approach: A field test using a mailed questionnaire to collect a relatively large sample of manufacturing companies has been used to test the proposed model. To eliminate possible multicollinearity among the independent variables, a multivariate regression analysis was used.Findings: The results provide clear evidence about the importance of competitive intelligence, strategic leadership, competitive intelligence, management of technology, specific characteristics of the company's innovation process, and company absorptive capacity with company success in new product development.Research limitation/implications: Despite the relatively broad scope of the proposed model, other factors may also be important and should be included in future studies.Practical implications: The items used for measuring the main constructs provide further and more specific insights into how managers should go about developing these areas within their organizations.Originality/value: While the study is grounded in the literature of what until now have been five separate areas of knowledge, it proposed a unique integrated model for these areas important to new product development.

Managing radical innovations in established companies

Established companies need to take several aspects into account when considering the management of radical innovations and must simultaneously ensure the profitability and functioning of the existing business. The main contribution of this study lies in exploring how radical and incremental innovations are separated and managed. The paper intends to clarify how companies can evaluate ideas, organise decision-making, utilise external parties optimally, and organise innovation activities while ensuring adequate linkages to existing business processes. This study analyses the practical implementation of innovation activities in a leading telecom company with advanced practices for managing innovations. The case company has established a separate innovation unit and defined a process for radical innovations. Linkages to other existing development processes are strengthened by including key personnel from these processes in the company's innovation process. These arrangements aid in acknowledging numerous aspects presented in the literature in conjunction with radical innovations.

Open Innovation Capacity of the Polish Universities

Following the patterns of open innovation should be one of the key elements of knowledge management systems in universities. Universities sharing or selling their intellectual property become natural partners, allies or suppliers in securing innovation in companies. The paper adds to the state of the art research by presenting data on Polish technical universities and by offering discussion over their open innovation capacity. The study covers two key aspects: (1) universities delivering solutions as partners/suppliers in outside-in innovation processes of companies and (2) universities as facilitators of open innovation ecosystems or key players in the ecosystems. The author seeks to answer the research question whether actions undertaken by universities to boost their presence in open innovation ecosystems affect the dynamics of the commercial use of their intellectual property. A method of structured self-assessment concerning open innovation capacity is proposed and applied. Results are cross-checked by accessing financial data concerning research and development contracts. In terms of the sale of intellectual property, Polish technical universities break down into three groups: three leaders, three followers and the low-end. The self-assessment inevitably raises a question whether open innovation is a real business model for universities or is it just a way to seek out opportunities? Open innovation capacity of the Polish technical universities is only potentially high. Even though they set up relevant supporting instruments, they hardly use them for real open innovation transactions.

Company Strategies for Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI): A Conceptual Model

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) has become an important topic in the academic community and in policy circles, but it has not yet been systematically included in the innovation process of companies. We discuss how companies can integrate RRI into their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and business strategy. To this end, we developed a conceptual model that links a company’s RRI strategy to its context, and that helps to translate the RRI strategy into activities that result in RRI outcomes. We also propose a process for developing company-specific RRI key performance indicators (KPIs) that can support companies to measure RRI outcomes.

Imitação e Inovação na Moda: Mapeando o Processo Criativo no Segmento de "Modinha" em uma Feira Regional

Fashion is recognized by transience, resulting in its short life cycle, since the constant changes make what was previously considered "fashionable" obsolete (Emidio Sabione, 2010). In this market, innovate and act before competitors, accelerate the launch of products, reduce design time and the placement of new items on the market is a survival condition (Lipovetsky, 2007). A central factor in the fashion spread is imitation, as this promotes both innovation and obsolescence, forcing producers to set up periodically (Caulkins et al., 2007, Pesendorfer, 1995). The research object is the "modinha", women's clothing that follows media trends, is the copying, with or without changes, to the mass market (Avelar, 2009; Victor, 2007), in this study, "José Avelino Street Fair". This fair meets weekly hundreds of manufacturers in a metropolis of northeastern Brazil that has been established as a fashion hub. Thus, it was proposed to identify the process of innovation in companies that make “modinha” in this Fair. The research was conducted through a survey and data were obtained from a questionnaire administered with 78 stallholders. One descriptive and exploratory data analysis was performed. It was found that, contrary to expectation, a considerable formality, with 49 of the 78 respondents with CNPJ; its customers are small retailers; and their competitors are the stallholders. Regarding the creation of clothes models, the stallholders research in various sources and said imitating models from these sources, but they try to make changes.

Management of Innovation Processes in Company

Abstract Management of innovation processes in company is the field of innovation management which is still not enough researched and applied in practice. Managers in companies often do not know about modern techniques and design tools for creating innovation processes and also as about the possibility of their effective usage for management and effective usage in decision-making conditions. The purpose of this study is following a detailed analysis of literature and realized research to create a model of innovation processes management in the company. There were used different methods by solving the defined problem, for example: content analysis - the study of documents, synthesis, comparative analysis, process analysis, statistical analysis, modeling, programming, empirical research methods and others.

Can the call centre contribute to innovation? A multiple case study in service companies

The objective of this paper is to gain an insight into the contributions of call centre services to all innovation processes. To this end, a number of case studies were conducted and revealed that the companies adopt different call centre models based on distinct strategies. Some companies choose not to use a call centre in their innovation process, despite the fact that it could represent a channel for interaction with users while serving as a source of ideas for innovation. Our findings reveal that the strategy of not incorporating a call centre in the innovation process is strongly tied to the belief that it represents a cost centre. On the other hand, in some cases, the call centre plays a major role within the company's innovation process. The paper concludes with a proposal for an alternative call centre model oriented to take the best advantage for innovation efforts.

Inovação de Empresas e Processos de Fusão: um estudo das empresas de serviços e industrias

O presente artigo apresenta uma análise do processo de inovação em empresas que adotaram como estratégia a criação de valor e a sinergia através da estratégia de fusão. A partir da fundamentação teórica pretende-se lançar luz ao tema ao apresentar embasamento para a pesquisa e consequente análise de resultados. Analisa-se, portanto, empresas de dois setores diversos da economia com o intuito de observar o “como” e o “porquê” de ocorrerem inovações diante do processo de fusão e quais os possíveis resultados dessas análises. Usando fontes secundárias, com o objetivo de apresentar resultados reais e imediatos ao anúncio de inovações das empresas estudadas, por meio de estudos de casos e de eventos, concluiu-se que inovações em produtos e parcerias geraram maior valor diante dos outros tipos de inovações em curto prazo no período pós-fusão.

Relationship Marketing – A Tool for Supporting the Company's Innovation Process

The paper presents the correlation between a specific method for acquiring knowledge from external sources by companiesi.e. partnership marketing and corporate innovation processes. The authors make the assumption that the use of customer relationships in the innovation process contributes to the implementation of this process. CRM systems are effective tools for acquiring information for innovation processes both at the stage of creating innovations and the stage of the diffusion of innovation. The effectiveness of individualised marketing is conditioned by such factors as close relationships with customers, continuous oversight, analyses, information technologies and databases.Customers’ participation in innovation creation is significant for another reason: customers who use products and services acquire knowledge that represents a great value for companies.The results of empirical research confirm the above hypothesis. The results of research presented in the paper indicate that Małopolska's companies do not make use of CRM methods in an effective way. It results from the deficiencies of IT infrastructure, the absence of knowledge management systems, cooperation traditions, difficulties in identifying customer needs in large target groups.Relationship marketing can be used as a tool for supporting corporate innovation processes with particular regard to tourism enterprises in order to more fully understand the tourists and visitors of a destination point of view.

Advisory Professorship Model as a Tool for Practice-Based Regional University–Industry Cooperation

The growing importance of “practice-based innovation models” has challenged the current consensus on the role of universities as main drivers of regional innovation systems. New models are needed to ensure the efficiency of co-operation between the region and universities. In this article, we present and analyse the effects of one practice-based innovation tool, the advisory professorship model, developed in the Lahti region, Finland. The Lahti region is relatively big by Finnish standards, but has no university of its own, which makes new types of knowledge transfer necessary. The empirical analysis is based on interviews of the companies that participated in the materials technology advisory professorship programme, developed and operated by Tampere University of Technology. In the analysis, we utilize the conceptual framework and analytical matrix developed by Tura et al. [(2008) Breaking inside the black box: Towards a dynamic evaluation framework of regional innovative capability, Science and Public Policy, 35(10), pp. 733–744] in the measuring of regional innovation capability. The study approach is based on regional and industrial viewpoints. In the light of the study, the programme had positive impacts on the innovation capability and innovation processes of companies. The advisory professorship model can be considered a useful practice-based innovation tool for regional university–industry co-operation with some limitations.