Objectives:

Global trends, political regulations as well as the constant change and fast pace of our times make it difficult for SMEs in particular to keep up and not lose their position in international competition. In order to meet these challenges, the company, an internationally operating technology leader, plans to create and implement an innovation-promoting corporate culture as well as an innovation management system that systematically looks into the future to identify new business fields. The Chair of Innovation and Technology Management (iTM) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) accompanies this process scientifically and methodically and contributes expertise in the areas of innovation management and strategic foresight.

Procedure:

At the beginning of the project, a desk research on the relevant topics of the two main business areas of the company is carried out. In addition to the analysis of studies, methods such as bibliometrics and patent analysis are also carried out (if necessary, preliminary telephone conversations with experts from the company). The aim of the systematic research is to identify relevant technologies, products and actors in the intersection of the two business areas in order to gain a systemic understanding of the subject areas. The aim of the analysis is to verify this or, if necessary, to identify further areas.

The visually prepared desk research results are presented in the context of a half-day creative workshop and serve as content input and idea stimulus. The aim of the creative workshop is to sensitise participants to change processes and to introduce and apply creativity methods based on an identified question. On the one hand, this can open up current thinking structures and promote creative thinking ("out-of-the-box") and, on the other hand, strengthen the participants' confidence in their abilities and in the company in times of uncertainty. 

In order to derive a long-term strategic orientation for the company, it is necessary to look into the future in addition to the strengthened confidence resulting from the creative workshop. For this purpose, methods of strategic foresight are combined and a scenario-based roadmapping is carried out.