Maturity analysis assess the capability of an organization to innovate

Abstract

Globalization creates a highly competitive environment for organizations. To be successful in this environment in the long term, organizations need the capability to innovate and produce ongoing innovations. However, many organizations do struggle to do so despite their innovation efforts. Therefore, it is important to determine the factors of a company’s innovation capability. This research paper answers the question of how a method should be designed in order to assess an organization’s capability to innovate. To answer this question, extensive literature research on the topics of innovation, existing innovation models, and organizational behavior, as well as expert interviews with people from different industries, were conducted. Thus, this paper follows a design science strategywith a qualitative approach. The analysis of the literature showed that several factors determine the innovation capability of an organization. However, existing models sometimes focus on a single factor or contain several factors, which are not described sufficiently. Furthermore, the possibility for organizations to assess themselves using the models is largely missing. Based on the data from the literature and the interviews, a maturity assessment, consisting of a model of seven dimensions and 27 indicators, and a corresponding questionnaire to assess these indicators, was developed. The research findings suggest that the developed maturity assessment with its Organizational Innovation Capability model is a suitable and comprehensive method that can be used to support organizations by assessing their current innovation capability in order to define the necessary further measures. This research argues that the additional dimensions and indicators are needed in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the innovation capability maturity of an organization. Further, the experts emphasized the value of creating awareness within an organization and providing a good foundation for further discussions and actions by means of the maturity assessment.