From product innovation to innovation systems and the role of software
While advising clients in innovation projects we frequently encounter organizations transforming their innovation systems and organization “on-the-go”. In recent projects we had the situation that traditional, well-doing companies have forgotten how to innovate. Some of these firms date back more than a 100 years and have seen significant phases of growth, all associated with innovations across many types but mostly with new products.
How come they forgot?
When assessing firms regarding their ability to innovate it is often found that traditional companies are able to preserve their heritage and strong DNA across generations of the workforce. Loyal specialists pass their knowledge on and on. Innovators in such companies may become lonely hurdlers in labs, service units, development departments and other organizational units. Especially in small to mid-sized firms (SME) the roadmaps exhibit fluctuating, long cycles of product updates and add-ons followed large-scale projects with critical deadlines and high expectations regarding their innovation, customer impact and market success.
Moreover, digitalization of business is accelerating and not stopping from any part of the value creation and sharing process. In…
