TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION RADARS: EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION STRATEGY AND SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT LAUNCHES

This paper summarizes many years of experience in process design and methodology implementation for sustainable innovation development as carried out by the authors within several innovation projects in different industries (e.g. fixed and mobile telecommunications, high tech, logistics). We have developed a research innovation approach which provide effective innovation intelligence and scouting through the use of technology and innovation radars. These instruments enable the identification and evaluation of emerging business and technology trends, provide an overview of the relative maturity and assess their relevance to the company. A rating mechanism helps companies to decide when to adopt an innovation and to develop new products and services. Furthermore, the technology and innovation radars are good strategic tools for early stage identification and prioritization in order to give an approximate value judgment without detailed return-on-investment justifications. In later stages of the planning process, the radar tools can be used as a high-level summary of an underlying prioritization process.