Paris, A. (2018). Innovation management along the life-cycle stages of a company [Master Thesis, Technische Universität Wien; Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien]. reposiTUm. https://doi.org/10.34726/hss.2018.57465
innovation management; organizational life-cycle; company growth phases; innnovation value chain; organizational development
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innovation management; organizational life-cycle; company growth phases; innnovation value chain; organizational development
en
Abstract:
Innovation management looks different in a start-up company than it does in a large, multi-national enterprise. This thesis analyzes the evolution of innovation management throughout the life-cycle of companies. Five life-cycle stages existence, survival, success, renewal and decline - are studied for their implications to the elements of the innovation value chain: idea generation, conversion and diffusion. While some features are of importance in any stage, such as a corporate culture that supports creativity, risk-taking and entrepreneurial behavior, as well as the need for absorptive capacity to take-in external knowledge, some features are specific to certain stages. A start-up needs innovations that help commercialize the initial product for market-entry and has to shelf other ideas for later, creating the need for an idea repository. Growing companies have to develop innovation strategies and foresight policies, as well as processes to govern new product development (NPD), e.g. by introducing Stage-Gate processes. Large companies have to tackle the challenge of complexity, operating in various regions and markets, and must actively enforce the inter-departmental communication; but they have options like structural ambidexterity or formation of spin-off companies. Beyond these seemingly self-evident observations, this thesis provides a sort of “navigation system” for growing companies in order to set the right priorities at the right time and stay innovative throughout the life-cycle.