Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity

Chapter 21. Organising for innovation

In a way, much of the GKN case study is about how large organisations approach innovation. What are the structures and processes they could use to infuse organisation, and are different kinds of processes needed for incremental versus radical innovation? Should venture capital be sought? The following two chapters address these issues.

There are a number of different ways organisations can approach innovation which seem to crystallise around two fundamental starting points: the people route or the process route. If the people route is chosen then there are three further options:

• the innovation champion (standalone)

• the dedicated innovation team (bolt-on)

• the central innovation department with 'ambassadors'

Only very few organisations manage a holistic approach that combines and goes beyond either the process or the people approach and achieve innovation as infusion.

Each approach has its merits and issues – and which choice a company makes will generally depend on its specific circumstances. Rather than being exclusive the four steps (innovation champion, innovation team, innovation ambassador, innovation as infusion) can also be seen as stages of an overall innovation journey.

In this chapter we will take a look first at the process-based route, whereby the main focus will be on idea management. This is followed by some considerations about the differences between incremental and radical innovation, and their implications. We will then take a look ...