Getting and keeping a competitive edge

Purpose – To identify key themes and emerging trends in research on innovation management likely to be of increasing importance in the next five to ten years. Design/methodology/approach – Conducts a literature review of highly regarded peer-reviewed journals. Proposes a two-dimensional framework for locating innovation management themes according to the internal or external orientation and their strategic and operational significance. Findings – How do you get – and keep – a competitive edge today? As companies around the world get to grips with ever more intense global competition, innovation and how to manage it effectively are right at the top of the business agenda. This is something that is highly relevant for both large and small organizations. Small and medium-sized companies now use innovation toolkits and networked organizational structures; bigger companies are integrating innovation management into their management processes and adopting open innovation methods. Innovation is central to economic growth and to raising standards of living for people across the world. But since 2006, when the concept of open innovation began to receive wider attention, there has not been much in the way of a discussion of new ideas in this area. What are the key trends for future innovation management? And how can we evaluate their significance either as research topics or for management practice? Practical implications – Identifies innovation management research areas that are receiving increasing attention and notes others – such as crowdsourcing – that are yet to emerge as distinct areas of study. Shows how different themes overlap and interconnect. Originality/value – Provides an overview of areas with significant potential to contribute to innovation management research. Notes that these may also be of interest in academic and professional education.