Innovation control creates the framework for successful innovations

Innovations are typically seen as Growth boost and essential Factor of success traded for companies. This applies especially when a Idea cannot be converted into a product, but this Product Also successful marketed will. A common problem for companies is already evident in the fact that the The value of an innovation from the perspective of the customer, represents a combination of several factors on a regular basis (for example, from different products and services), and consequently the Benefits an innovation Not at first glance apparent It has to be. The so-called Innovation control a comes into play Support function by designing and directing innovation activities in order to achieve their Efficiency and effectiveness increase to be able to do it.

Comparable to the situation in other important business areas Innovations for example through the following four areas are affected will be: Innovation strategy, Innovation management system, Innovation culture and Innovation control. The successful company is the one that best designs and implements the interaction between these four areas. While the Innovation strategy for the General conditions and is responsible for setting the goals and measures, the Innovation management system an aid to Systematization The daily innovation work (e.g. by creating organizational responsibilities). "Soft facts" will be held as part of the Innovation culture it includes, for example, the support provided by the management, open communication, Fault tolerance or international and interdisciplinary teams. Finally, the Innovation control - comparable to "normal" controlling - through the tasks Planning, control and information provision No. In the context of innovation control, the focus of the audit is particularly on decisions regarding Continue, to Termination or for modification of Innovation projects. Which is fundamentally important for controlling Key figures They can be collected in a process-related, revenue-related, or customer-related manner – important metrics include, for example, the number of ideas, time to market, ROI, revenue share, customer satisfaction, etc.

Innovation control at the strategic and operational level

In detail, innovation control must become active at both the strategic and operational levels. at a strategic level Does the innovation control department set itself the goal of improving Interactions between effects between market, technology, and organization to identify and one Success factors model to sketch. Ideally, innovation control supports innovation management in the creation of innovative framework conditions as well as in the identification of Marketing potential. Similarly, at the strategic level, it must be ensured that Innovations if necessary also stopped (and not always supported) are required. Such a step is necessary especially when otherwise the Existence threat of the company by unwirtschaftic and not commercially successful innovation projects, or even by an unbalanced innovation portfolio per se, a threat exists. Operational level The innovation control system should provide valuable support for innovation management (by decisive information, analyses and recommendations for action), and thereby targeting the target audience, Implementation and marketing improve.

For use in the context of innovation control, traditional Control instruments and -concepts accordingly adjusted will. Without aligning the controlling with innovation-specific frameworks, innovation management could not be optimally supported in the control of the innovation processes. An important starting point here is that the Innovation process Exactly analyzed and based on that, the Tasks and tools of innovation control (similarly standardized) determined will be. In line with the so-called "Stage-gate model"The phases of opportunity recognition, idea generation, concept development, development, testing, introduction preparation, and market launch can be distinguished by von Cooper.".

Uncertainty especially at the beginning of the innovation process

The topic of innovation is particularly complex because Every phase of the innovation process different characteristics has - so in early project phases uncertainty and lack of information are particularly high. The instruments of innovation control must therefore be identified and used in a phase-specific manner, because they serve different purposes in each phase. Two additional challenges to innovation control are particularly evident. Innovations processes are sometimes so successful in companies precisely because People with completely different professional backgrounds (e.g. business managers, engineers, physicists, etc.). It is only understandable that each department has its own own understanding of the language has, and therefore Communication problems It can occur. An important The role of innovation control So it lies in starting from the very beginning to uniform language within the innovation team. In another area, innovation controlling must ultimately intervene in a supportive manner by already existing, own but also foreign Ideas, Always again together combined will be, which will lead to a Further development Innovations can come from anywhere. Knowledge and information management are of particular importance for innovation control in this context.

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