BUSINESS RESEARCH

Innovation Governance

Effective governance is essential for steering, managing and sustaining a complex, cross-functional and multidisciplinary activity like innovation. Innovation governance itself can be thought of as “a system of mechanisms to align goals, allocate resources and assign decision-making authority for innovation, across the company and with external parties”.

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January 2016

To determine whether your company has adopted a comprehensive innovation governance system, reflect on three critical questions about the content of innovation:

  1. Why innovate? This answer might be obvious to some top managers, but does everyone else in the organisation have the same clear understanding of the mission, purpose and objectives of innovation? For example, is innovation a way to generate a totally new business and grow profitably? Do others see it as a means to reinforce current businesses to win a sustainable advantage? Or is innovation a means to build strong brand reputation and attract and motivate top talent?
  2. Where do you look for innovation? In other words, where should you focus and what should be your priorities? Some might argue that innovation is necessary in all business areas and therefore they will promote a broad, open scope for their innovation activities. However, in reality, innovation will better serve the business if it focuses on, and gives priority to, what really matters for the success of the company – whether that be building new products, lowering costs, or redesigning business models.
  3. How much innovation do you want? Determining how much innovation you want is crucial for determining how much risk you are willing to accept to meet your objectives – be it building a new market category or leveraging an advantage over competitors – and the sustainability of the anticipated reward.

Sources: Deschamps, J-P. (2013) What is Innovation Governance? Definition and Scope, [online], InnovationManagement.Se; Deschamps, J. P. & Nelson, B. (2014) Innovation Governance: How Top Management Organizes and Mobilizes for Innovation, Jossey-Bass, US.

Referenced techniques

Technique

Innovation Management

The concept determines the critical factors of innovation management. It reviews the managerial practices of successful innovators and summarises the strengths and limitations of innovative approaches.

Technique

Business Innovation

The concept explores innovation and how it can create and capture value for organisations. It will provide professionals with a basic understanding business innovation.

Technique

Asset Building to Support Innovation Opportunity

The concept explains how and why organisations should build and position their assets strategically to support innovation opportunities. It describes the types of assets that support innovation - as well as their limitations - and offers useful advice and guidance on implementation strategies.

Technique

Consumer Behaviour

Understanding consumer behaviour has significant bearing on marketing and public relations decisions. The concept reviews a number of issues related to consumer behaviour and organisational responses and will help you to enhance your marketing campaigns to successfully connect with consumers.

Technique

Corporate/Organisational Culture

This concept explores how organisations build up their own culture through tradition, history and structure. It also suggests that culture provides organisations with a sense of identity.

Technique

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs outlines five levels of human motivation: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation. It provides businesses with insights to enhance employee engagement, improve performance, and develop strategies that align with core motivational drivers for impactful results.

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