Innovation Management: Strategy, Technology, and Leadership

What Is Innovation Management?

Innovation management comprises a set of processes and procedures that allow organizations to reach strategic goals, remaining competitive in a rapidly changing and diverse global economy. The discipline combines many of the core principles of both innovation and management, synthesizing research in the psychology of human motivation with research into the sociological phenomena of organizational behavior and performance. Moreover, the discipline involves both qualitative and quantitative research methods in terms of analyzing organizational performance and goals. Innovation management also takes into account change management, as a core feature is the ability for an organization and its leaders to anticipate challenges and respond using creative and unique strategies. Often, innovation management depends on either the implementation of technology as a tool or on the direct application of innovation management to the development of transformative technologies that may serve as industry disrupters.

Innovation management can be open, closed, or a combination of the two (Mikhailovich, Dmitrievich, Evgenevna, et al., 2017). The type of innovation management strategy employed will depend on key variables and situational constraints including technological potential, life cycle issues, and other internal and external factors. Open innovation strategies present risks such as the relative lack of intellectual property protections for the firm, but also offer several advantages including reduced costs for research and development, the ability to directly influence if not completely control new markets, and more potential for higher profit margins versus half-open and closed types of innovation management (Mikhailovich, Dmitrievich, Evgenevna, et al., 2017). Closed strategies can enhance the overall climate of innovation and scientific or technological breakthroughs. However, closed innovation management methods may also impede the ability of organizations to accurately manage research and development processes and outcomes (Mikhailovich, Dmitrievich, Evgenevna, et al., 2017).

A combination of closed and open innovation management may be recommended in some cases, particularly when the needs of financial resource management are balanced with a recognition of the complexity of market structures and functions. The discipline of innovation management may also take into account issues related to corporate social responsibility, both as a driver of innovation and as an outcome (Bakir, 2016). Innovation management can also offer opportunities for organizational learning, showing how innovation managers can optimize their workgroups and employ evidence-based practices. Ultimately, the practice of innovation management involves all levels of an organization.

The Role of Technology in Innovation Management

Technology is instrumental at every stage of the innovation management process and can in fact be the single most important aspect of innovation itself. Not all technologies relevant to innovation management will be information or digital technologies, but digital technologies do present some special issues for organizations and their innovation managers. Digital innovation refers to the specific application of digital technologies and information technologies in the process of innovation (Nambisan, Lyytinen, Majchrzak, et al., 2017). However, digital innovation is more than just the application of research and development to the design of new products and services. The straightforward application of innovation management and motivation to creating products and services that give organizations a competitive advantage is only one of the more obvious aspects of innovation management. Beneath the surface, organizations contend with a wide range of variables impacting innovation management, including the decision of whether to use third-party or outsourced technologies to cut costs or facilitate processes and practices (Nambisan, Lyytinen, Majchrzak, et al., 2017; Tidd & Thuriaux-Alemán, 2016). Organizations may also need to use technology roadmaps to guide their own schedules of research and development within the product life cycle (Tidd & Thuriaux-Alemán, 2016, p. 1026). Overall industry context and external variables may provide the impetus for design and innovation changes. Innovation management involves reflection on existing technology portfolios, the foresight needed to recognize new opportunities for innovative technologies in the market, and an understanding of how to leverage internal technologies or products designed by competitors.

Organizations may also need to anticipate new markets and understand how technologies can be used to create new niches or define new user experiences. Technologies may evolve through open, closed, or half-open innovation processes. Organizations may need to leverage existing technologies within their own portfolios to initiate change or respond to threats and challenges. Likewise, organizations can capitalize on existing but stagnant technologies in the marketplace as a springboard for innovation. The alignment of innovation management and technological change takes place at the sociological level, impacting managerial and leadership strategies. For example, innovation managers collaborate with technology managers "to seek alignment with corporate strategy, or at least it facilitates a discussion on what the corporate goals are and how technology might contribute to their attainment" (Tidd & Thuriaux-Alemán, 2016, p. 1036). Technology is also instrumental in helping managers quantify their own processes and goals, using those metrics to drive performance and optimize resource allocation.

Technology drives most of the primary questions and concerns within the field of innovation management. Central among these is the gamut of intellectual property concerns that arise. Technology managers and innovation managers need to concentrate on end goals and objectives when determining how to approach intellectual property, and when to sacrifice proprietary knowledge in the interests of cost savings or bringing a new product to market at the right time to gain competitive advantage. When approaching innovation management from a quantifiable perspective that depends on metrics and ongoing assessments, managers must also present possible new technologies, designs, products, and features in terms of how they meet organizational goals. Technology portfolio management can be considered an important sub-category within the rubric of innovation management (Tidd & Thuriaux-Alemán, 2016). Portfolio analysis shows how an organization creates and maintains both short-term and long-term strategies of research, development, marketing, and product launches. Innovation managers may also need to quantify the life cycle of a product, applying the requisite principles of open, closed, or half-open innovation management strategies (Mikhailovich, Dmitrievich, Evgenevna, et al., 2017). Bakir (2016) also shows how the theoretical integration of new technologies in the field of education can promote social and ethical goals.