Experience with Innovation Checks: a case study with 46 companies in Denmark

During a 2-year period DELTA has performed 46 Innovation Checks in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) with great success. In addition to reported benefits experienced by the companies, the Innovation Checks have given us extensive knowledge of the companies' difficulties in having success with innovation in relation to the following five topics: product, processes, production, eBusiness (use of IT for business proposes), and marketing. This paper presents the method behind the Innovation Checks and conclusions reached from this important project carried out in cooperation with the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). The main conclusions are: Companies don't have the necessary time to invest in innovation. Companies lack a business strategy that includes innovation. Without the time and focus, innovation will be ad-hoc rather than a mastered discipline. An Innovation Check does help companies with innovation here and now, but without a mastered innovation process it is likely to become a one-off event. This paper presents our experience from data and observations collected during the Innovation Checks. As the population is fairly small (46 companies) (Figure 1) the results are to be taken as observations and guidelines rather than scientific facts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.