Developing an Innovation Accounting System for a Professional Service Firm: A Design Science Research Project

Abstract

This paper reports on a design science project developing an innovation accounting system for a professional service firm. Innovation accounting is an approach to track the progress of innovation activities. Although the subject of study has a defined product innovation process, there is a lack of measurable information on the outcomes of innovation activities. This implies a blind spot in the effective allocation of resources in innovation activities. In this paper a design science approach is used to bridge the existing concepts on innovation accounting and the needs of user groups. The output of the paper is a conceptual solution design for an innovation accounting system in the context of the product innovation process for a professional service firm. The learnings from the study are transferred into design propositions by using the CIMO-logic. This paper contributes to the body of design knowledge on innovation accounting in professional service firms.