Assessing your company’s innovation performance

Assessment of a firm’s performance in respect to innovation could be argued to be best made on the ability to make innovation a key systemic capability. (Dodgson, Gann, Nelson, 2014) On one end of the innovation spectrum are firms that don’t know how to innovate, innovation is not given airtime and it rarely happens. While on the other end of the spectrum are firms that have highly developed, highly effective processes and structures in place that create the ‘know-what’ and ‘know-how’ to innovate. In between are firms that may have random and ad-hoc processes and structures in place and have some ability to innovate. Commonly new ideas may emerge, structures are put in place to support them, and then the firm diverts its attention elsewhere and dismantles new innovation projects. (Dodgson, Gann, Nelson, 2014) This same cycle may occur again, and the process repeats itself; creating an on-again and off-again pattern of innovation activity that can waste scarce resources and detract from the ability to encourage innovators to innovate. (Dodgson, Gann, Nelson, 2014)

Many companies will find that they have some know-how to innovate but are largely unsure how to proceed; innovation processes will be characterised as being largely random and ad hoc. Such companies are likely stuck in a cycle of on-again and off-again patterns of innovation activity.

Assessing the extent of the innovation challenge

In the immediate future many organisations have a real opportunity to move up ‘innovation levels’; in order to realise the value of innovation, ensure processes are in place, develop some ability to innovate and deliver on planned actions for continuous innovation improvement. In the longer term organisations should aspire to ‘level 4’ innovation. In order to achieve this a company must make an honest review of and plan for addressing several essential innovation practices. (De Jong et al., 2013)

A useful starting point can be reference to a company’s strategic objectives contained in its strategic plan to identify key business activities that could be considered supportive of the improved innovation performance and this can significantly help to communicate to leadership the need to scale up innovation across an organisation. By establishing credibility of the requirement for innovation performance improvement an organisation can then begin to aspire and drive towards innovation-led growth.

In our next blog we will think about how a firm can aspire and drive towards innovation…

#innovation #strategy #performance #innovationstrategy #innovationperformance #EdgeBig

References

De Jong, M., Marston, N., & Roth, E. (2013). The eight essentials of innovation. McKinsey Quarterly, Strategy(2), 36–47. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-eight-essentials-of-innovation

Dodgson, M. Gann, D. Nelson, P. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management (P. Dodgson, M. Gann, D. Nelson (ed.); 6th Edition). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199694945.013.010

Dodgson, M. (2019b). Innovation strategy (Lecture 8). TIMS7811 Innovation Leadership, University of Queensland [UQ].