{"id":25636,"date":"2026-03-03T22:26:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/glossary\/innovation-management\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T15:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T13:36:10","slug":"innovation-management","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation Management"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"glossary-tldr\" style=\"background:#f0f7ff;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:12px;\">\n<strong>Key Takeaways:<\/strong> Innovation management involves the systematic planning, management, and control of innovation processes within companies. It combines <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-strategy\/\">innovation strategy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-culture\/\">innovation culture<\/a>, and structured methods like <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/design-thinking\/\">Design Thinking<\/a> to develop marketable solutions from ideas.\n<\/div>\n<nav class=\"glossary-toc\" style=\"background:#fafafa;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;\">\n<strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#definition\">Definition: What is Innovation Management?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#dimensionen\">The 4 Dimensions of Innovation Management<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#prozess\">The Innovation Process: From Idea to Market<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#methoden\">Methods and Tools<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#kmu\">Innovation Management in SMEs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#erfolgsfaktoren\">Success Factors for Effective Innovation Management<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#so-starten\">How to Establish Innovation Management<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<h2 id=\"definition\">Definition: What is Innovation Management?<\/h2>\n<p>Innovation management is the deliberate design and control of all activities aimed at generating innovations within a company and successfully launching them on the market. It encompasses the entire journey from idea generation through development to market launch (<a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/go-to-market-strategy\/\">Go-to-Market<\/a>). <\/p>\n<p>This involves not only radical breakthroughs but also incremental improvements to products, services, processes, and <a href=\"\/glossar\/geschaeftsmodell-innovation\/\" style=\"color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;\">business models<\/a>. Good innovation management creates the framework conditions under which innovation becomes repeatable and plannable \u2013 instead of depending on chance. <\/p>\n<p>In the DACH region, innovation management is gaining particular importance: increasing competitive intensity, <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/digital-transformation\/\">digital disruption<\/a>, and a shortage of skilled workers are forcing companies of all sizes to systematically expand their innovation capabilities.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dimensionen\">The 4 Dimensions of Innovation Management<\/h2>\n<p>Effective innovation management unites four closely intertwined dimensions:<\/p>\n<h3>1. Innovation Strategy<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-strategy\/\">innovation strategy<\/a> defines the areas in which the company wants to innovate, how aggressively it proceeds, and what resources are invested. It sets the direction and ensures that innovation activities contribute to corporate goals. <\/p>\n<h3>2. Innovation Culture<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-culture\/\">innovation culture<\/a> describes the values, attitudes, and behaviors that promote or hinder innovation in everyday life. Without a culture that supports experimentation, learning from mistakes, and cross-functional collaboration, all processes remain ineffective. <\/p>\n<h3>3. Innovation Process<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-process\/\">innovation process<\/a> structures the path from idea to implementation. Typical models include Stage-Gate processes, <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/design-thinking\/\">Design Thinking<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/lean-startup\/\">Lean Startup<\/a>, or hybrid approaches that combine different methods situationally. <\/p>\n<h3>4. Innovation Organization<\/h3>\n<p>The organizational embedding determines whether innovation is a top management priority or organized decentrally: dedicated innovation teams, labs, <a href=\"\/glossar\/innovationskultur\/\" style=\"color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;\">intrapreneurship<\/a> programs, or agile cross-functional teams.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"prozess\">The Innovation Process: From Idea to Market<\/h2>\n<p>A typical innovation process goes through the following phases:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Idea Generation (Fuzzy Front End):<\/strong> Systematic idea finding through <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/idea-management\/\">idea management<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/open-innovation\/\">Open Innovation<\/a>, customer observation, and trend analyses<\/li>\n<li><strong>Idea Evaluation &amp; Selection:<\/strong> Prioritization based on market potential, feasibility, and strategic fit<\/li>\n<li><strong>Concept Development:<\/strong> Elaboration of the most promising ideas with <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/business-model-canvas\/\">Business Model Canvas<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/value-proposition\/\">Value Proposition Design<\/a>, and initial prototypes<\/li>\n<li><strong>Validation:<\/strong> Testing with real customers \u2013 e.g., via <a href=\"\/glossar\/mvp-minimum-viable-product\/\" style=\"color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;\">MVP<\/a> approaches and <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/lean-startup\/\">Lean Startup<\/a> experiments<\/li>\n<li><strong>Development &amp; Scaling:<\/strong> Implementation into market-ready products\/services and <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/go-to-market-strategy\/\">market launch<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"methoden\">Methods and Tools<\/h2>\n<p>Innovation managers today have access to a broad repertoire of methods:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/design-thinking\/\">Design Thinking<\/a>:<\/strong> User-centric approach to problem-solving in interdisciplinary teams<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/lean-startup\/\">Lean Startup<\/a>:<\/strong> Hypothesis-based testing and rapid iteration<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/business-model-canvas\/\">Business Model Canvas<\/a>:<\/strong> Visualization and design of business models<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/jobs-to-be-done-jtbd\/\">Jobs-to-be-Done<\/a>:<\/strong> Understanding customer needs through their &#8220;Jobs&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/blue-ocean-strategy\/\">Blue Ocean Strategy<\/a>:<\/strong> Creating new markets instead of competing in existing ones<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/okr-objectives-and-key-results-2\/\">OKR<\/a>:<\/strong> Objectives &amp; Key Results for managing innovation goals<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/agile-methods\/\">Agile Methods<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/scrum\/\">Scrum<\/a>:<\/strong> Iterative development in short cycles<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/swot-analysis\/\">SWOT Analysis<\/a>:<\/strong> Strategic positioning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"kmu\">Innovation Management in SMEs<\/h2>\n<p>Special conditions apply to <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/sme-digitization\/\">SMEs and mid-sized companies<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pragmatic instead of academic:<\/strong> SMEs don&#8217;t need an innovation lab with 50 employees \u2013 a structured process and clear responsibilities are often sufficient<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer proximity as a strength:<\/strong> Direct contact with customers is the most valuable innovation input \u2013 use it systematically<\/li>\n<li><strong>Management as a driver:<\/strong> In SMEs, innovation stands or falls with the commitment of the leadership team<\/li>\n<li><strong>Utilize networks:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/open-innovation\/\">Open Innovation<\/a>, collaborations with universities, and <a href=\"\/glossar\/innovationsfoerderung\/\" style=\"color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;\">funding programs<\/a> compensate for a lack of internal resources<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-coaching\/\">Innovation Coaching<\/a>:<\/strong> External support helps identify blind spots and set up the process professionally<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"so-starten\">How to Establish Innovation Management<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Analyze the status quo:<\/strong> How innovative is your company today? Where are the strengths and gaps? <\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-strategy\/\">Define innovation strategy<\/a>:<\/strong> Which innovation areas are strategically relevant?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Set up the process:<\/strong> Establish a clear path from idea to implementation with defined decision points<\/li>\n<li><strong>Develop culture:<\/strong> Create spaces and formats that foster creativity and experimentation<\/li>\n<li><strong>Measure and control:<\/strong> Define innovation KPIs and regularly review progress and effectiveness<\/li>\n<li><strong>Build competencies:<\/strong> Train your team in innovation methods \u2013 e.g., in an <a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-workshop\/\">innovation workshop<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"glossary-cta\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1e3a5f,#2563eb);padding:32px;border-radius:12px;margin:32px 0;color:#fff;text-align:center;\">\n<h3 style=\"color:#fff;margin-top:0;\">Professionally establish innovation management?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"color:#f0f0f0;font-size:1.05em;\">We help you systematically establish innovation management in your company \u2013 from strategy to implementation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/business-model-innovation-services\/\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#fff;color:#667eea;padding:14px 32px;border-radius:8px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;margin-top:8px;transition:transform 0.2s;\">Discover Our Services \u2192<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"glossary-faq-accordion\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)<\/h2>\n<details itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" style=\"background:#eaecee;border-radius:8px;margin-bottom:0.75rem;overflow:hidden;\">\n<summary itemprop=\"name\" style=\"padding:1rem 1.2rem;font-weight:600;cursor:pointer;color:#2c3e50;\"><span style=\"color:#666;font-size:0.8rem;\"><\/span> What is the difference between innovation management and idea management?<\/summary>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"padding:0 1.2rem 1rem;color:#2c3e50;\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Idea management is a sub-area of innovation management and focuses on the systematic collection and evaluation of ideas. Innovation management also includes strategic alignment, the entire development process, market launch, and the organizational embedding of innovation. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" style=\"background:#eaecee;border-radius:8px;margin-bottom:0.75rem;overflow:hidden;\">\n<summary itemprop=\"name\" style=\"padding:1rem 1.2rem;font-weight:600;cursor:pointer;color:#2c3e50;\"><span style=\"color:#666;font-size:0.8rem;\"><\/span> Which methods are suitable for innovation management in SMEs?<\/summary>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"padding:0 1.2rem 1rem;color:#2c3e50;\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Particularly pragmatic methods are suitable for SMEs: Design Thinking for customer-centric solution development, Business Model Canvas for business model design, Lean Startup for rapid validation, and OKR for steering. The key is combining a few well-understood methods instead of an overloaded toolkit. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" style=\"background:#eaecee;border-radius:8px;margin-bottom:0.75rem;overflow:hidden;\">\n<summary itemprop=\"name\" style=\"padding:1rem 1.2rem;font-weight:600;cursor:pointer;color:#2c3e50;\"><span style=\"color:#666;font-size:0.8rem;\"><\/span> How do you measure the success of innovation management?<\/summary>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"padding:0 1.2rem 1rem;color:#2c3e50;\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Proven KPIs include: revenue share of new products (under 3 years), time-to-market, number and quality of the innovation pipeline, ROI of innovation projects, and employee participation (submitted ideas, participation in innovation formats). Important: Measure both input and output metrics. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" style=\"background:#eaecee;border-radius:8px;margin-bottom:0.75rem;overflow:hidden;\">\n<summary itemprop=\"name\" style=\"padding:1rem 1.2rem;font-weight:600;cursor:pointer;color:#2c3e50;\"><span style=\"color:#666;font-size:0.8rem;\"><\/span> Does every company need an innovation manager?<\/summary>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"padding:0 1.2rem 1rem;color:#2c3e50;\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Not necessarily as a dedicated position. In SMEs, innovation management can also be organized as an additional responsibility of management or a team leader. The crucial thing is that someone is responsible for the innovation process, sets priorities, and secures resources \u2013 regardless of the job title.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details style=\"background:#eaecee;border-radius:8px;padding:0;margin-bottom:0.75rem;\">\n<summary style=\"padding:1rem 1.2rem;font-weight:600;cursor:pointer;color:#2c3e50;list-style:none;\">Can innovation management work without dedicated budget?<\/summary>\n<div style=\"padding:0 1.2rem 1rem 1.2rem;\">While dedicated budget significantly increases success rates, innovation management can start with time allocation rather than financial investment. Many successful corporate innovations began as &#39;20% time&#39; projects or innovation sprints using existing resources. However, to scale beyond pilot projects, you&#39;ll need budget for validation, prototyping, and market testing. Even modest budgets of 1-3% of revenue allocated to innovation can generate meaningful results if deployed strategically.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Related Terms<\/h2>\n<div style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:8px;margin:16px 0;\">\n<a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-strategy\/\">Innovation Strategy<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-culture\/\">Innovation Culture<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-process\/\">Innovation Process<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-workshop\/\">Innovation Workshop<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-coaching\/\">Innovation Coaching<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/innovation-consulting\/\">Innovation Consulting<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/design-thinking\/\">Design Thinking<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"\/glossar\/geschaeftsmodell-innovation\/\">Business Model Innovation<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/open-innovation\/\">Open Innovation<\/a><a style=\"display:inline-block;background:white;border:1px solid #d5d8dc;border-radius:20px;padding:0.4rem 1rem;margin:0.3rem;color:#1a5276;text-decoration:none;font-size:0.95em;\" href=\"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/glossary\/lean-startup\/\">Lean Startup<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways: Innovation management involves the systematic planning, management, and control of innovation processes within companies. It combines innovation strategy, innovation culture, and structured methods like Design Thinking to develop&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24529,"parent":25140,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-25636","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Point-of-New-Business-Model-Innovation-Benedikt-Hasibeder-scaled.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25636"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28208,"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25636\/revisions\/28208"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointofnew.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}