Innovation Communication as a Cross-Functional Dynamic Capability: Strategies for Organizations and Networks

This book chapter draws on the dynamic capability approach to specify the elements of the dynamic capability innovation communication necessary to maintain the management of communication processes, tools and activities regarding the communication of a corporation’s or collaborative network’s innovation portfolio in the innovation economy. Dynamic capabilities can facilitate enterprise performance in a continuously changing environment with rapid innovation and globally spread resources, capacities, and stakeholders. In this context, innovation communication enables systematically planned transactional information transmissions related to innovations, context-issues of innovations and innovative capability and addresses communication markets, resource markets and sales markets based on a chosen innovation communication strategy. As one of a corporation’s dynamic capabilities, innovation communication may not only positively influence an innovation’s diffusion or innovation reputation in environmental dynamics but may also re-shape different markets and collaborative networks as well as create and extend strategic assets to communicate innovations in a highly competitive innovation economy. After introducing a foundation of sustainable enterprise performance by dynamic capabilities in the innovation economy, this book chapter presents a conceptual definition and description of the elements of the cross-functional dynamic capability innovation communication including a classification system as a fundamental basis on which future research might build on, in particular to specify the dynamic capability innovation communication for empirical research studies. Based on the characteristics of innovation communication, strategies and strategic tools for organizations and collaborative networks are also provided to support decision-making in strategic corporate communication management.