Innovation Management in South Africa: An Inquiry

Abstract

The study assesses innovation management in South African organizations, through semi-structured interviews. Some of the key attributes of innovation considered, include a) value proposition, b) organizational context, c) innovation process and management. Based on the interviews, some of the greatest challenges the organizations face are a) risk mitigation and management, b) innovation project evaluation and appraisal, as well as c) innovation process standardization and improvement. The conclusion is that innovation and innovation management still contain residual ambiguity. Still, there is always room at the top—organizations can still actively build their innovation competencies, from a range of dimensions, ranging from culture to process. No reason can be found why innovation can not be turned on itself—innovating innovation as organizational activity and competency.