11 Success Factors in Technology and Innovation Management

Key findings from the previous consortium benchmarking exercise in collaboration with Fraunhofer IPT

Management Summary

The operating environment for businesses is currently undergoing profound change: geopolitical tensions, technological leaps, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, and ongoing economic pressures are increasing the pace of change and uncertainty across all sectors. In this context, Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) is becoming a key driver for securing the future of businesses, as it contributes significantly to ensuring long-term competitiveness, unlocking new growth potential and fostering adaptability to changing market requirements.

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As part of the consortium benchmarking for technology and innovation management, carried out jointly with Fraunhofer IPT, companies with particularly successful technology and innovation management practices were identified and systematically analysed. The innovation management of these organisations exhibits eleven recurring success factors that define their character.

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These practices do not operate in isolation; rather, they only achieve their full impact when they interact across the four key dimensions: strategy, processes, organisation and culture, and performance and engagement.

In the area of strategy, it is evident that successful companies consistently link technological developments with market requirements. They focus their innovation activities specifically on adjacent and new growth areas, rather than concentrating exclusively on their existing core business.

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The process dimension is characterised by a combination of exploratory approaches in early phases and clearly structured decision-making mechanisms in later phases. Rapid learning is systematically linked to binding selection and prioritisation processes throughout the innovation process.

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At the level of organisation & culture, it becomes clear that innovation capability arises in particular through suitable structural and cultural framework conditions. These include cross-functional collaboration, the company-wide embedding and visibility of the innovation vision, targeted scope for development, and a systematic approach to knowledge as a strategic resource.

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The Performance & Commitment dimension represents the key lever for ensuring effectiveness. Phase-based key performance indicator systems are increasingly being used here to provide transparency regarding the progress and impact of innovation projects. At the same time, this dimension reveals the greatest differences in maturity levels when comparing companies, as well as increased uncertainty regarding the measurability of innovation initiatives.

Taken as a whole, it becomes clear that innovation strength does not arise from individual methods or isolated initiatives, but from the consistent embedding of an integrated and coordinated overall system. What is crucial is the ability not only to enable innovation, but to establish it as a strategically driven, measurable and organisation-wide core competence.

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Last year's Successful Practice companies

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