What is really successful product innovation so it’s also not surprising that – depending on the examination – 70% do not protrude from the first year of life up to 90% of the products. If one asks what the indicator for real innovation, as the application of new procedures and the clear distinction to known products are called. This is quite true in the technical sense of viewing. However, the inference arises at this point of view, you should provide a suitably large budget for research and development to achieve successful product innovations. The resources but have the vast majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop product innovations based on new technical processes. Just the SME still succeeds in bringing the majority of product innovations on the market. How does this contradiction? To answer this question, it is necessary to get the reasons for success or failure of innovations on the track. A number of criteria make a Only successful product innovation: excellent product quality significant consumer benefit (, consumer benefit’) innovative core concept need relevance (, fit to consumer needs’) to SMEs have tended to greater proximity to the market due to your flat organizational structure: the routes are short and so the voices be heard by customers and consumers up in the boardroom.

Focusing on a limited range of products promotes also the proximity to the consumer. Or simply put: you know how the consumer thinks. The already outstanding product quality is achieved in most SMEs through special qualifications of the employees. It is often part of the business strategy to differentiate itself on the quality of the product over the competition. Also the manufacture of simpler products moved in some sectors already before years abroad. How do so, at the same time to meet the criteria listed above? The key to this lies in the corporate culture. If the existing benefits a mid on an innovation-friendly culture meet, occur much more frequently successful innovations. Staff of different disciplines in multifunctional teams can work together under these conditions, the necessary support by management is safe to them and through open communication within the company, employees can successfully foster the innovation.

A corporate culture does not arise naturally overnight”. Rather, it is based on common experiences and unwritten rules that shape a common basic understanding about the behavior and the collaboration in the enterprise. “If but is that an appropriate corporate culture nurture” makes for successful product innovation, can enough be not started early, to align the management of the company on this goal.