Innovation Management for Established Businesses: Management Matters

This report focuses on the specific challenges facing established businesses that wish to innovate to improve their competitive position. We distill key innovation management principles for these businesses and illustrate the principles using findings from interviews with 16 leading innovative companies. A company’s strategy determines innovation, which is a means to achieve strategic objectives. Innovation is difficult and risky, and requires strong leadership. Innovation starts with a process of asking the right questions to the right people in such a way that they generate new ideas. The company winnows these new ideas down to a few priorities that could significantly change the firm’s products or services, processes, organization, or marketing. It then puts these critical few into a process to take them from idea to implemented solution.