The industry and market are changing, innovation is changing too, it has been one of the hottest topics in the last couple of decades, and the term and the concept behind it are here to stay.

FREMONT, CA: In the past few years, classic innovation management has predominantly dealt with the development of technical innovations, new products, and innovative product features. To endure with these tasks, an innovation process was started in various companies, which provided a transparent process beginning with the generation of ideas through the development of ideas and the prototype phase to implementation. The scope of innovation management is expanded in the companies through digital transformation. The innovation management becomes more diverse with IT innovations and digital innovations. This leads to several significant trends that will shape innovation management up to 2020.

It Combines a Variety of Different Methods 

Adding to the innovation process, companies drive innovation through open innovation and co-creation. They infiltrate into cooperations with start-ups, formulate ideas competitions, and set up innovation labs. The methods are not contradictory. The classic innovation processes are predominantly suitable for routinely enforcing technical innovations and product innovations. On the other hand, innovation methods tend to serve the exploration of new opportunities and the fast enforcement of innovations with a higher degree.

Innovation Culture Shifts into the Focus of Innovation Management

It is a well-accepted fact that if there is no adequate innovation culture within a company, the best innovation strategy is of little help with which this strategy can be implemented. An organization's innovation culture is an essential part of its ability to innovate. For this intend, organizations possess instruments at their disposal, such as an innovation audit, which analyses the innovation culture. Based on the analysis, hidden innovation barriers can be recognized that stand in the way of adept innovation management. The innovation culture can be promoted through ideas competitions inside the company. For this intention, employees are briefed about the challenges of the company, which the company would like to meet with new ideas.

Importance of Building Innovation Communities

The external and internal innovations networks are increasingly gaining importance for companies. In innovation management, innovation communities form a “parallel structure” that is developed throughout hierarchical levels and departmental boundaries. These innovation communities generally go beyond the company’s borders.