TY - GEN
T1 - Practical approach: How to enhance innovation democracy with the means of idea management in an expert organization?
AU - Mikkonen, Päivi
AU - Enkovaara, Heidi
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Innovation is changing from closed environments to more
open platforms. It is claimed
to be become democratic. The opening democratization of
innovation forces organizations to
rethink the practical methods of managing innovation both
internally and externally. Researchers
claim that systematic management of innovation is a key
success factor for most innovative
companies. The paper describes a case where an idea
management tool was developed and
brought into practice in a demanding expert organisation.
The first phase of innovation process, idea generation,
has been crucial for companies' renewal
and success in closed environments. Idea generation
should be rich and even chaotic process
and it has typically been carried out in forms of various
idea calls and listings. Today, new
technologies offer companies a way to generate and
further develop ideas in open virtual spaces
that can be shared globally and by all levels of an
organization.
Nevertheless, chaos and numerous ideas and insights set
prerequisites for idea evaluation. In
this case the challenge was tackled by introducing two
entities: Firstly, the idea gardens, where
the ideas can be planted, further developed, commented
and rated by all the users. Secondly,
an evaluation tool, with which the "ripe" ideas can be
evaluated by specialists by using an
integrated web survey tool. However, introducing an idea
management tool is only a starting
point on organisations' journey towards successful
innovations. The most demanding task is to
link innovation process development and organisation
culture.
This paper contributes to the conversation of creation of
an innovative organisation by a
practical point of view. The paper concentrates on the
fuzzy front-end of the innovation process,
idea generation, and gives insight of how to develop
innovation democracy within an expert
organisation.
AB - Innovation is changing from closed environments to more
open platforms. It is claimed
to be become democratic. The opening democratization of
innovation forces organizations to
rethink the practical methods of managing innovation both
internally and externally. Researchers
claim that systematic management of innovation is a key
success factor for most innovative
companies. The paper describes a case where an idea
management tool was developed and
brought into practice in a demanding expert organisation.
The first phase of innovation process, idea generation,
has been crucial for companies' renewal
and success in closed environments. Idea generation
should be rich and even chaotic process
and it has typically been carried out in forms of various
idea calls and listings. Today, new
technologies offer companies a way to generate and
further develop ideas in open virtual spaces
that can be shared globally and by all levels of an
organization.
Nevertheless, chaos and numerous ideas and insights set
prerequisites for idea evaluation. In
this case the challenge was tackled by introducing two
entities: Firstly, the idea gardens, where
the ideas can be planted, further developed, commented
and rated by all the users. Secondly,
an evaluation tool, with which the "ripe" ideas can be
evaluated by specialists by using an
integrated web survey tool. However, introducing an idea
management tool is only a starting
point on organisations' journey towards successful
innovations. The most demanding task is to
link innovation process development and organisation
culture.
This paper contributes to the conversation of creation of
an innovative organisation by a
practical point of view. The paper concentrates on the
fuzzy front-end of the innovation process,
idea generation, and gives insight of how to develop
innovation democracy within an expert
organisation.
M3 - Conference article in proceedings
T3 - Taideteollisen korkeakoulun julkaisusarja C
SP - 20
EP - 34
BT - Proceedings of the Creative Futures Conference. Pori, 10 - 11 Oct. 2007.
A2 - Mäenpää, Marjo
A2 - Rajanti, Taina
T2 - Creative Futures Conference
Y2 - 10 October 2007 through 11 October 2007
ER -