Innovation is one of the key enablers for European enterprises to compete in global markets. The term ‘innovation’ is constantly used in speeches of managers, politicians, public administrators. However, in the large majority of cases, the term is used as a generic 'place holder', a sort of container whose actual content is left to the intuition. For this reason it is important to deeply elaborate, specifically on the notion of Enterprise Innovation, to better understand the essence and meaning of innovation. Innovation stems from a virtuous mix of intuition, creativity, and a solid background knowledge. Each innovation endeavour has its own characteristics, largely different from previous experiences. It falls in the category of ‘wicked problems’, i.e., problems difficult to solve because of incomplete, fuzzy, changing requirements. Nevertheless, there are recurring patterns and it is possible to conceive systematic methods, and supporting information systems, to promote and manage innovation avoiding the risk to close it in a ‘cage’, risking depressing the fundamental creativity and fantasy. This talk will present an innovative framework for enterprise innovation that includes a methodology and an innovation management platform which is based on an generic behavioural pattern (i.e., independent of the industrial sector), a strong knowledge orientation, and an innovation monitoring system funded on a number of Key Performance Indicators, to constantly keep the progress of the innovation project under control.

1. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 1
Innovating Enterprise Innovation
Michele Missikoff
1
Università Politecnica delle Marche
and CNR Lab for Enterprise Knowledge and Systems
Alpen Adria University, Klagenfurt, 15th May 2014
This work has been partially supported by the BIVEE European Project, Grant n. 285746

2. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 2
Objectives of this talk
Do not convince you that
Innovation is important
Innovation is difficult, risky, often costly
Show that we need to change the way we
carry on Innovation
Provide some clues where to go ...
Target: Complex organizations
Networked SMEs
Large, distributed enterprises
Articulated Public Institutions

3. Vision
To overcome the crisis, EU enterprises need a
deep change
Introducing continuous improvement and
innovation to remain competitive in the
globalised economy
Sustainable Innovation rather than expansive
innovation
We need to put Knowledge in the center, to
guarantee
Continuous alignment of Business needs and
Enterprise Software Applications in ever changing
enterprises
3

4. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 4
What is Innovation?
“The act of introducing something new “
(TheFreeDictionary)
“The term innovation can be defined as
something original and new that ‘breaks in
to’ the market or into society.”
(Wikipedia)
“Innovation is crucial to the continuing
success of any organization”
(Oxford Dictionary)

5. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 5
Some quotations ...
Innovation is a knowledge intensive
endeavour (BIVEE)
Knowledge is the fuel, but it achieves the
miracle! The more you use it the more you
have it!! (BIVEE)
If I had 20 days to solve a problem, I would
spend the first 19 to define it. (A. Einstein)

6. Summarising ... few key questions
Questions are more important than answers...
What are the key needs for manufacturing /
service innovation today?
What are the main boosters / hindrances?
What is the interplay between human intelligence
and supporting technologies?
Where is the border between open knowledge and
new ideas protection?
What can we measure about innovation? Cost?
Expected benefits? Chances of success?
What are the methods/tools already adopted
today? What do you see in the future? 6

7. What is Business Innovation?
Business Innovation is a designed, managed
sustainable transformation of some
aspects of the enterprise (or the society, the
city, etc.) aimed at a substantial change of:
• The nature/quality of delivery products
(goods, services), improving customer
satisfaction
• Production processes and workers
satisfaction
• Cost reduction and/or revenue raise
• The Marketing Strategies / Scope
7

8. Business Innovation: Where?
• Products (goods / services)
• Production / Admin processes
• HR competencies, skills, capabilities
• Organization models, with new delegation patterns
• Enterprise information organization and flow
• Markets and marketing styles
• Customer relationships
• Suppliers and partners strategies and management
• Technology adoption, deployment, renewal
strategies and practice
• Financial and control styles, methods, and tools
• Quality of working life and ambient
• Relationships with the territories, the people, the
environment, local cultures
8

9. Understanding Innovation
9
(GregSatell,http://www.digitaltonto.com)

10. Business Innovation: How?
push-mode and technology driven, when
generated on the supply side;
pull-mode and demand driven, when requested by
the market/demand side;
co-creation, when all the stakeholders cooperate
together to generate product or process
innovation.
Endogenous, when ideas come from within the
Ecosystems
Exogenous, when ideas come from the rest of the
World
10

11. Risks in innovation
11
Can we avoid? ... or at least minimise? ... or at
least keep all the process under control?

12. Enabling Business Innovation
• Create the right environment, working conditions
• Grassroots innovation (beyond Toyotism ...)
• Open innovation (but controlled), with systematic and
ad-hoc relationships with
• universities , research centres, partners, suppliers and
customers
• Facilitate info / knowledge / ideas circulation within
and outside the enterprise
• Culture of cooperation (tools & rewarding system)
• Scouting
Technology
Market
Excellence centres
• Observatories on opportunities, problems, threats, ...
12

13. Innovation New Knowledge
Knowledge about
• New ideas, reserch results, patents, ...
• enterprise and its organization
• competencies, skills, and capabilities
• problems and improvement opportunities
• products and services
• production processes, methods
• Technologies, systems, and resources
• Markets, clients, partners and competitors
13

14. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 14
Business Innovation in Virtual
Enterprise Environment
Virtual Enterprise Environment
Value Production Space
Virtual Innovation Factory
Business Innovation Space
14

15. Innovating Innovation
Towards Open Innovation
A systematic approach to Innovation, nurturing
creativity and ideas generation
Innovation as intangible goods
‘Manufacturing’ approach to Innovation
The need of new production/organization
models
Manage the full Knowledge Cycle (including
Tacit Knowledge, see Nonaka)
Virtual Innovation Factory (VIF), operating
in the Innovation space
15

16. BIVEE Philosophy
Consolidating BIVEE Framework specifications
• Key elements: people, ideas, communication,
collaboration, social behaviour, communities
• Full Value Chain: from innovation to production
improvement
• Innovation as an iterative, goal-oriented, venture
based on 4 Waves: Creativity, Feasibility,
Prototyping, Engineering
• Monitoring & Assessment: integrated formal (KPIs)
and informal (social & crowdsourcing) approaches
• Integration of Human (informal, document-based) &
Computer (formal, semantics-based) Knowledge
16

17. People first, then business and
technology
(http://www.thecontenteconomy.com/) 17

18. Enterprise Model 4 BusInnov
18
BUSSINESS
innovation
STRATEGY
innovation
MARKETING
innovation
PRODUCT
innovation
SERVICE
innovation
PROCESS
innovation
TECHNOLOGY
innovation
ORGANIZATIONAL
innovation
(Scource: BIVEE Deliverable D2.1)

19. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2012 WP8 Update Geoff Ward 10 – 13 July 2012 19
Innovating Innovation
Business Innovation Reference Framework (BIRF): the
principles for Virtual Innovation Factory operations
Innovation as a new form of ubiquitous Semantic nurturing,
rather than ‘Knowledge Management’
Waves (rather than processes):
Creativity, Feasibility, Prototyping, Engineering
Innovation Monitoring Framework: I-KPIs & W4+ semantics:
What, Why, Who, When, Where, (How)
Focused Innovation Targets:
Goods, Services, Processes, Technologies
Goal oriented approach, instantiated in Documents
Semantically enriched Documents for knowledge sharing
Innovation-oriented Ontologies

20. BIVEE Tech Solutions
• A Virtual Enterprise Environment, to be integrated
with existing Enterprise Software Applications (ESA)
• Distributed, collaborative, knowledge-intensive
framework
• A Platform for networked, interoperable virtual/real
enterprises
• To be used directly by Business Experts, pushing for
disintermediation (wrt techies) in innovation KM
• Shared Semantic Whiteboard, to guarantee a single
‘ideas shopping’ point.
• Proactive subject-driven knowledge provisioning
• Innovation Observatory to push Open Innovation,
Crowdsourcing, …
20

21. Virtual Innovation Factory
• Virtual Innovation Factory set up
– Definition of objectives:
a) Problem-driven, e.g., proposed by a customer
b) product-driven, e.g., proposed by staff experts
c) tech-driven, e.g., proposed by staff / external
player
– Create a VIF with its Manager
– Create the Innovation teams: composition,
organization, competencies & roles, etc.
– Acquire the material and financial resources
– Start the ad-hoc Collabrative Innovation
Plan
21

22. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 22
BIVEE Innovation Waves
1. Creativity: Ideas
2. Feasibility: Numbers
3. Prototyping: Tech viability
4. Engineering: Industrial viability

23. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 23
In
A problem, coming from the field
A new technology, methodology
A new Market Need / Opportunity
Reports from previous experiences in the field,
similar problems
Out
Proposed Idea; Sketch of a Solution
Innovation Project Approval (KPIs);
VIF Created

24. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 24
VIF Start to work
Analysis of previous experiences
Enrich the sketch of solution
Technical and commercial feasibility
Feasibility KPI analysis
Preliminary tech design
Assessment and Go/NoGo decision
Needed resources and Budget consolidation

25. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 25
Engineering team consults with
suppliers and acquires the new
components
alternatives are tested, searching also
tests performed in other laboratories
The final prototype specs are
produced
Prepare blue print & Test reports
KPI analyse for Go/NoGo decision

26. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 26
Analyse prototype specs and test
results
Perform cost analysis of part
replacement
Production plans
Bill of Material
Business / Production Processes
Final Industrial Blueprint

27. Virtual Innovation Factory
27
SS
Whiteboard
Innovation
Diary
Doc Network
W1 W2 W3 W4
DocOnto DomOnto
BusOnto
PerOnto
!
Idea
AROnto ProcOnto
Final
Innov

28. Conclusions
The main ideas on a new approach for
Innovation have been presented
Future innovation needs to be addressed as a
Knowledge Management venture
But traditional KM is not suited for the purpose
We need to revisiting the existing KM
solutions
Ontologies and Semantic Wikis are
promising tools, together with social media
and cooperation tools (in Open Innovation)
But human intelligence and creativity
remains the key pillar
28

29. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 29
Engineering (It)
BIBA (De)
BOC (At)
ATOS (Es)
CNR (It)
UnivPM (It)
TAL (UK)
SRDC (Tr)
AIDIMA (Es)
Loccioni - GI (It)
Credits
• Large part of the content of this talk has been
elaborated within the European Project BIVEE:
Business Innovation in Virtual Enterprise
Environments.
• BIVEE is a 3 years project (ends Dec 2014) with 4.3
M€ budget and 10 partners :
Proceedings: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-864/

30. ©BIVEE PROJECT 2013 WP8 Update Geoff Ward March 2013 30
Questions ?
Comments?