Innovation / innovation management (firm, sector, country, or specific process) - Essay Example

Innovation management Introduction Innovation, the process of developing a new product or concept, is very essential to business organizations that operate in competitive environments. Development of new products, for example, diversifies consumer choices towards utility while developed processes facilitate efficiencies in operations. This paper offers a research proposal to investigate relative significance of factors that influence innovation management.Research questionThe proposed research intends to explore the question, ‘what is the significance of the factors affecting innovation to innovation management?

’The proposed research question seeks to answer a problem in managerial decision making in innovation processes. This is because it seeks to identify a rationale to understanding weighted significance of each factor and will be instrumental to managers for successful innovation processes. Literature reviewInnovation is a very instrumental factor to organizational success and it has been acculturated in organizations whose operational and marketing environments are very competitive. Innovation is however influenced by many factors that determine its necessity and feasibility.

In a research to investigate factors that affect an organization’s ability to use innovation in its processes, the researchers identified features of an organization, its available resources, and its “external support and market factors” as preliminary considerations (Yusof, Shafiei, Said, and Abidin, 2010, p. 84). While the factors are necessary for making decisions on whether to initiate an innovative process or not, a clear understanding of the order of their significance would facilitate insights over their importance (Yusof, Shafiei, Said, and Abidin, 2010).

The concept of difference in significance of factors affecting innovation was also developed in a research on elements of innovation in product development. Results of the research that was conducted by Ju in China identified factors such as market research initiatives by organizations, the organizations’ adopted strategies, and level of technology as the most essential factors that determine success of innovative processes in Chinese food processing industry (Ju, 2012). Similarly, Smith, Busi, Ball, and Meer identified nine factors that influence enterprises’ ability to manage innovation effectively.

The factors are “management style and leadership, resources, organizational structure, corporate strategy, technology, knowledge management, employees, and innovative process” (2008).The existing literature therefore identifies an information gap on the general effectiveness of each of the factors to implementation and management of innovation initiatives. The proposed research therefore seeks to establish the relative importance of factors to innovation management with the aim of developing a basis for informed decision making in innovation management.

Proposed research methodsThe research proposes to use quantitative research design in which ordinal data will be collected with the aid of predetermined questionnaires. The research will further adopt a stratified random sampling approach because of its ability to ensure both internal and external validity in research processes. Collected data will then be analyzed using SPSS data analysis software (Singh, 2007).Proposed data sources and relevance of the sourcesThe research intends to collect data from operations managers in identified organizations that prioritise innovation.

The source of information is relevant to the research objective because it is a primary source based on the managers’ experience. The source therefore promises reliable and accurate data.ConclusionI am therefore prepared for the actual research and I look forward to your approval of the initiative that will be significant to managerial decision making in innovation.Reference listJu, B 2012, ‘An evaluation of critical factors influencing product innovation in the food industry- A case study of China Mengniu Dairy Company’, International Journal of Business Management, vol. 7, no. 3, viewed on November 20, 2012, .

Singh, K 2007, Quantative social research methods, SAGE, Thousand Oaks.Smith, M Busi, M, Ball, P and Meer, R 2008, ‘Factors influencing n organization’s ability to manage innovation: A structured literature review and conceptual model’, International Journal of Innovation management, vol. 12, no. 4, viewed on November 20, 2012, . Yusof, N Shafiei, M Said, I and Abidin, N 2010, ‘Factors influencing Firms’ readiness towards innovation in house building industry: A multy-dimensional construct’, International Journal of Organizational Innovation, viewed November 20, 2012, .