The management of innovation, the art and science of turning ideas into value, has become an essential part of the competitiveness of companies and countries. However, with the emergence of new technologies, it is undergoing a profound transformation.
The 23 members of the editorial board of the Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM) have asked themselves: What is the future of innovation management? What new key problems are leaders facing, and what new questions should researchers address? The result is an article outlining five future paths for research in innovation management.
Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), University of Tennessee (USA), Washington University, Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), among other academic institutions, published an essay exploring the potential futures of innovation management research. The article delves into the changing landscape of this critical field, exploring its historical roots, current trends, and possible future directions.
A Look into the Past: The Evolution of Innovation Management
To understand where innovation management is headed, it is essential to examine its past. For decades, research in this area has primarily focused on three central domains:
- Technological Innovation: This has been a cornerstone of innovation management, focusing on the development of new products and processes. While innovative, this approach has often overlooked the broader social and environmental implications of technological advances.
- Social and Environmental Innovation: Recognizing the interconnectedness of businesses and society, researchers have increasingly explored innovations that address social challenges and environmental sustainability. This shift reflects a growing awareness of the need for responsible and ethical innovation.
- Organizational Innovation: This domain focuses on the internal structures, cultures, and processes that foster innovation. It explores how organizations can create environments where creativity thrives and new ideas are transformed into successful ventures.
These three areas have been the foundation of innovation management research, but their potential disruptive impact on the field is undeniable. As technology accelerates, social expectations evolve, and the global environment faces unprecedented challenges, these traditional boundaries are blurring, demanding new approaches and perspectives.
Charting the Future of Innovation Management
Innovation management is a critical area of research that seeks to understand how new ideas and technologies can be effectively developed and implemented to benefit organizations and society. The field is currently evolving significantly, in light of major drivers of change such as sustainability, artificial intelligence, and the emergence of a more fluid society. As the world faces these unprecedented challenges, innovation management research must evolve to provide insights and solutions that address these urgent issues.
Pioneering the Future: Critical Research Paths
To gain deeper insights into the future of innovation management, the group of distinguished scholars gathered at the JPIM Innovation Summit, held in January 2023, to identify key research areas.
The summit aimed to create a comprehensive roadmap for innovation management research over the next 5 to 7 years, focusing on social impact, technological advances, and new business models.
“One of the challenges we faced was the vast breadth and complexity of the topics we wanted to cover. It was crucial to ensure that the research agenda we proposed was comprehensive and viable, providing clear guidance for future studies,” said Roberto Verganti, holder of the Josefsson Family Chair in Art and Innovation at the House of Innovation in the Stockholm School of Economics.
The results of the Summit have been condensed into five critical paths:
Liquid Innovation
This concept challenges traditional notions of innovation as a linear process. It emphasizes the need for agility, adaptability, and responsiveness in an increasingly fluid and uncertain world. Understanding how organizations can become more liquid in their innovation efforts is a critical research frontier.
According to the authors of the article, the first major change we face is that the very nature of innovation is mutating: products continuously change, even after being launched to the market (often in an incomplete form), in a continuous flow of change where users become key actors in the innovation process, exploring multiple simultaneous uses (think, for example, of the spread of digital twins or the multiplication of online identities of the same person).
Artificial Intelligence in Innovation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries and has the potential to revolutionize innovation management. Exploring how AI can be leveraged to enhance creativity, accelerate problem-solving, and optimize innovation processes is essential for future success.
The study identifies AI as a transformative force in innovation management, with potential applications ranging from automated support to fully autonomous innovation leadership.
Business Model Innovation
As markets evolve, so too must business models. Research into new and innovative business models is crucial for organizations seeking to thrive in the future.
The researchers highlight that business model innovation should be seen as a predominant form of innovation that can significantly disrupt industries and create new value propositions, driven more by market factors than technological capabilities.
Public Value Innovation
Addressing social challenges requires a new approach to innovation. Public value innovation focuses on creating solutions that bring value to citizens and communities. This is an area of growing interest as organizations seek to contribute to the common good.
The research emphasizes the importance of innovation that delivers public value, focusing on sustainable solutions and processes that address social challenges and improve quality of life.
Responsible Innovation
As the impact of innovation on society and the environment becomes increasingly evident, responsible innovation is gaining ground. Research in this area explores how to ensure that innovation is ethical, sustainable, and inclusive.
The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities
The future of innovation management is complex and multifaceted. While the five identified research areas offer exciting opportunities, they also present significant challenges. Integrating these diverse perspectives, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and addressing the ethical implications of innovation are just some of the hurdles researchers must overcome.
Despite these challenges, the future of innovation management is bright. By embracing new ideas, fostering collaboration, and addressing the urgent issues of our time, researchers can help shape a future where innovation is a force for good.
“The potential for innovation to create positive social impact is immense, but it requires a concerted effort from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Our research highlights the need for a collaborative approach that prioritizes meaningfulness for a complex range of stakeholders, going beyond the previous focus on use. By broadening the scope of competencies, an infusion of humanities, art, and sense-making frameworks can help us better understand how to manage innovation in a world where humans, ecologies, and technologies are closely intertwined,” concluded Roberto Verganti.
Contact
Jelena Spanjol
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Munich, Germany.
Email: spanjol@lmu.de
Reference (open access)
Spanjol, J., Noble, C. H., Baer, M., M. Bogers, L. A., Bohlmann, J., Bouncken, R. B., Bstieler, L., De Luca, L. M., Garcia, R., Gemser, G., Grewal, D., Hoegl, M., Kuester, S., Kumar, M., Lee, R., Mahr, D., Nakata, C., Ordanini, A., Rindfleisch, A., . . . Wetzels, M. (2024). Fueling innovation management research: Future directions and five forward-looking paths. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 41(5), 893-948. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12754
