INNOVATION MANAGEMENT: TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Abstract

The overview focuses on the innovation and its strategies, process and implementation activities in a management of an organization. Author introduce the systems based approach to organizational-level innovation management by suggesting that Investments in R&D activity and innovation could help the industry to lower its future capital requirements and operating costs, while also increasing yields and reducing resource and energy use. These investments would ultimately help the industry become more efficient and economically viable. This paper examines technological trends, innovation efforts and outcomes, as well as their implications for productivity in the automobile sector. The analysis shows that investments into R&D were drastically reduced during the run up to the financial crisis but are slowly increasing. Results from an analysis of patent applications suggest that the direction of invention in automobile technologies is turning towards climate change mitigation. However, a recent downward trend could be of concern given the environmental challenges ahead. By providing a first look at innovation and productivity issues in the global automotive industry, this paper also proposes possible avenues for future research.