Common Themes and Success Factors

In this chapter, the editorial team reflects upon common themes from the cases, how the standard was used, prerequisites for success and practical guidance it can offer for a successful journey. Organisations embarked on their innovation management system (IMS) journeys for different reasons. For some, it was about external triggers, e.g., positioning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or responding to industry shifts and technology disruptions. For others, it was about internal triggers, e.g., as an enabler for organisational restructuring or building innovation capabilities. Three cases (INTI, Karolinska, OKI) explicitly used the ISO 56002 guidance standard to fully implement their innovation management systems. Three cases used it to implement selected elements of the standard (Airbus, Norconsult, Södra). Four cases (CIMC, Evonik, Midea, Moen) implemented a systems approach before the standard was published. Others (HIF, Kanthal, KTH GDH, Naturvårdsverket, Oregon State, SDP) used ISO 56002 as a lens to reflect on their innovation capabilities and to reinforce and validate steps already taken. Regardless of the standard’s use, organisations have been able to move from ad hoc or process-driven activities to a systems orientation, create a common language to collaborate, clarify their innovation ambitions and start their journeys via a bottom-up, top-down or combination of both approaches.