John Bessant

Innovation Management Measurement: A Review

Measurement of the process of innovation is critical for both practitioners and academics, yet the literature is characterized by a diversity of approaches, prescriptions and practices that can be confusing and contradictory. Conceptualized as a process, innovation measurement lends itself to disaggregation into a series of separate studies. The consequence of this is the absence of a holistic framework covering the range of activities required to turn ideas into useful and marketable products. We attempt to address this gap by reviewing the literature pertaining to the measurement of innovation management at the level of the firm. Drawing on a wide body of literature, we first develop a synthesized framework of the innovation management process consisting of seven categories: inputs management, knowledge management, innovation strategy, organizational culture and structure, portfolio management, project management and commercialization. Second, we populate each category of the framework with factors empirically demonstrated to be significant in the innovation process, and illustrative measures to map the territory of innovation management measurement. The review makes two important contributions. First, it takes the difficult step of incorporating a vastly diverse literature into a single framework. Second, it provides a framework against which managers can evaluate their own innovation activity, explore the extent to which their organization is nominally innovative or whether or not innovation is embedded throughout their organization, and identify areas for improvement.

Small firms, R&D, technology and innovation in the UK: a literature review

Abstract The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in economic growth has made them a central element in much recent policymaking. Of particular interest have been policies designed to promote and facilitate the operation of the innovation process within SMEs, and there has been substantial expansion of this kind of effort. Despite this interest, the knowledge base about how SMEs actually undertake innovative activities remains limited. This paper reports on a literature survey of UK work over the past decade and tries to characterise the state of knowledge about SMEs and innovation. It concludes with a discussion of gaps and weaknesses in the literature and some requirements for future research in this field.

High-involvement innovation through continuous improvement

Continuous improvement (CI) in all aspects of the business is essential for meeting the challenge of today’s turbulent environments. One increasingly popular strategy for enabling continuous improvement is through mobilising a high level of involvement of the workforce in sustained incremental problem-solving. Although the potential benefits of such high involvement innovation are considerable, implementing programmes of this kind is not easy. This paper reports on a five year research programme exploring implementation issues in CI and presents a framework model for the development of CI which draws upon extensive case study work. In particular, it identifies a series of levels of CI performance and the blocks and enablers associated with them.

An evolutionary model of continuous improvement behaviour

Abstract In todays complex and turbulent environments the need for continuous improvements in products and processes is widely recognised. But the mechanisms whereby such a continual stream of innovation can be achieved are often less clearly identified. One option is to mobilise a high proportion of the workforce in a process of sustained incremental problem-solving, but experience with this approach suggests that successfully doing so is far from simple. Although many programmes for ‘kaizen’ or ‘continuous improvement’ based on employee involvement are started, the failure rate is high. This paper reports on extensive case-study based research exploring how high involvement in continuous improvement can be built and sustained as an organisational capability. It argues that this phenomenon needs to be viewed as a cluster of behavioural changes which establish innovation routines in the enterprise, and presents a reference model for assessment of progress in the evolution of such capability.

Developing strategic continuous improvement capability

In developing CI capability, organisations need to move to a level of development in which strategic goals are communicated and deployed and where improvement activity is guided by a process of monitoring and measurement against these strategic objectives. Policy deployment of this kind is more prevalent in Japanese examples and in a handful of cases in Western firms. Implementing it poses significant challenges and requires a different and additional toolkit of enabling resources. This paper reports on the experience of policy deployment in Japan and in Western enterprises and explores some of the implementation issues raised.

Rediscovering continuous improvement

Abstract Continuous improvement (CI) is increasingly being seen as an important complement to more radical, step-change forms of innovation. In essence, it involves a company-wide process of enabling a continuing stream of focused incremental innovation. It has found particular application in recent years in the area of quality improvement, but the principle can be applied to many other divisions of business performance. Although simple to define, the achievement of such CI activity and its maintenance over the long term is a major source of difficulty. This paper reports on research in this area and highlights key areas within CI which need to be addressed.

Putting supply chain learning into practice

As firms struggle to cope with an increasingly turbulent and uncertain economic environment there is widespread recognition of the importance of organisational learning. One option is to look at the potential of shared learning between firms, where common interests and interdependence provide motivation for experience sharing and other forms of synergy in learning. A particular version of inter-firm learning is the use of supply chains as a mechanism for upgrading and transferring “appropriate practice” and this article reports on exploratory research on this theme. It draws on a literature survey and a detailed study of six UK supply chains at various stages of implementing supply chain learning.

The manufacturing strategy‐capabilities links in mass customisation and agile manufacturing – an exploratory study

This paper is based on longitudinal case studies of research into strategy formulation within six plants from large firms – three in the car industry and three from the computer industry – that have embarked on mass customisation. The core theme of this paper is that, in spite of the increasing attention given to manufacturing strategy from the seminal work of Skinner through to the plethora of articles in recent times, little is mentioned about its application to paradigms of agility or mass customisation. As a consequence firms attempt to become agile and to pursue mass customisation without appreciating the contribution of plant‐specific manufacturing strategies that might enable them to achieve these aspirations. We examine the enablers and strategic blockages in pursuing mass customisation, via a mapping process, and reveal reasons why some firms remain unable to devise and implement manufacturing strategies.

Finding, Forming, and Performing: CREATING NETWORKS FOR DISCONTINUOUS INNOVATION

Many industries today face a fast pace of technological and market change where the shifts are not just more-of-the-same. Instead, they are characterized by periods of discontinuous change in which the companies that emerge as the new winners often have competencies, backgrounds, and networks of relationships that are very different from the previous incumbents. Lego used to compete head-tohead with Mattel and Hasbro in brick sets and action figures; now it has to come to grips with the latest digital device or online offering from Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts. GSK used to see Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer as its principal competitors; now it is equally worried about the proliferation of new drug compounds from biotechnology companies. While discontinuous changes of this type have occurred throughout history, there is evidence that they are becoming more frequent and more severe. 1 The implication for many firms—and particularly those in fast-moving, high-technology industries—is that they need to increase their capacity for discontinuous innovation, i.e., the implementation of new technologies, products, or business models that represent a dramatic departure from the current state of the art in the industry. 2 This article examines how firms create new networks (with customers, suppliers or other partners) as one part of this capacity for discontinuous innovation.

Responsible innovation : managing the responsible emergence of science and innovation in society

Science and innovation have the power to transform our lives and the world we live in for better or worse – in ways that often transcend borders and generations: from the innovation of complex financial products that played such an important role in the recent financial crisis to current proposals to intentionally engineer our Earth’s climate. The promise of science and innovation brings with it ethical dilemmas and impacts which are often uncertain and unpredictable: it is often only once these have emerged that we feel able to control them. How do we undertake science and innovation responsibly under such conditions, towards not only socially acceptable, but socially desirable goals and in a way that is democratic, equitable and sustainable? Responsible innovation challenges us all to think about our responsibilities for the future, as scientists, innovators and citizens, and to act upon these.