CONDITIONS FOR

SUCCESSFUL INNOVATION
MANAGEMENT
1. Management Commitment to Innovation
 Management commitment is one of the most important success factors in innovation
management. In the absence of corporate management support, innovation leaders
will waste their time fighting against windmills.
 The commitment of all managers, from top to bottom, is the basis of the innovation
process. This is because it secures the necessary support for innovations that are now
happening outside of the day-to-day business (where a company earns the money)
from all areas. Support, time, and budgets are necessary fuels for the success of
innovation, which can only be achieved through a commitment to innovation.
2. Strategic orientation
 If the strategic orientation of innovation
activities is lacking, there is a lack of goal,
path, and orientation. This makes it difficult
for those in charge of innovation to assess
where and what to look for, which
innovation topics have priority, and thus
difficult to make the right decisions.
 Therefore, the innovation strategy must be defined on the basis of future trends, opportunities,
risks and challenges as well as the corporate strategy:

 What is the purpose of innovation and what do we want to achieve in the future?
 What is the contribution of innovation to corporate strategy?
 What are our future topics and search fields?

 Based on these answers, the innovation vision, its strategy, and the innovation roadmap
emerge. These elements are the basis of all innovation activities, be it the development of ideas,
the prioritization of innovation projects, or decisions in projects.
3. Clear responsibilities
 The innovation process is a highly interdisciplinary process and requires the
involvement of many functional areas and employees in order to successfully
implement a new product or service idea.

 It is, therefore, necessary to clearly define what is expected of the employees. Above
all, it is also about defining the roles in the innovation process. For example, the tasks
of sales, production, purchasing, etc. in innovation projects are clearly defined with
regard to their contribution to the success of innovation.

 In addition, the project roles are defined in individual innovation projects and must be
perceived with commitment.
4. Innovation culture
 Innovations require completely different structures and cultures in comparison to
operative management and work. The operational business is built on routine and
efficiency, while innovation is always about innovation. This requires different
values and attitudes, for example, openness to try out new and new things,
willingness to take risks, thinking across borders, accepting mistakes, and much
more.

 Therefore, a company must build up a positive innovation culture where innovations

are welcome and encouraged.
Measures to promote a culture of innovation are implemented at various levels:
 Raising employee awareness of innovation, e. g. through communication measures.
 Motivation, e. g. incentives for promoting innovation.
 Empowerment of employees for innovation, e. g. training courses on creativity and
the innovation process.
 Active involvement of employees, e. g. through innovation competitions.
 Creation of spaces and structures for innovation, e. g. flat hierarchies, freedom, and
resources.
5. Change Management
 The introduction of innovation management requires a change and also the implementation
of innovations themselves necessitate changes. These changes can only become effective if
they are supported by all employees themselves and if the workforce itself actively changes.

 Therefore, change management itself is an extremely important tool and belongs to the
repertoire of every innovation manager. Innovations put a company into continuous change
and therefore it requires conscious and constant management of these changes in order to
take all employees on the journey.
6. Integration of all employees

 Innovation is not something that only a limited, elitist

circle of employees does or is even boosted by the
innovation manager. Innovation must be actively
initiated and supported by all employees. That is why the
innovation manager must involve all employees in a
targeted manner.

 On the one hand, this includes awareness-raising

measures to inspire and motivate all employees for
innovation, but also structural measures for active
involvement, such as pitching contests, innovation
competitions or classic idea management.

 Innovation must become a permanent initiative that is

supported and actively shaped by all employees.
7. Collaboration
 Cooperation is an essential success factor in innovation processes and projects. Innovations always happen
in interdisciplinary teams and require the cooperation of many employees. It is important, however, that
everyone pulls together and pursues a common goal. Otherwise, different demands lead to silos, lack of
cooperation and support, or problems at the interfaces, which in the end can seriously slow down an
innovation project or even cause it to fail.

 For this reason, a company must place great emphasis on the fact that all employees pursue a common goal
- on the one hand in terms of innovation vision and, on the other hand, in individual projects. Everyone
must have a common, great goal in mind and focus their energies on it. Only in this way can all innovation
potentials be used productively and facilitate the success of innovation.