Assessing innovation

Innovation: the successful exploitation of new ideas. Innovation enables the business to compete effectively in an increasingly competitive global environment

Product innovation: the creation and launch of a good or service that is a new, or significant change to an earlier good or service

Process innovation: the creation of a new way of making, providing or delivering a particular good or service

• Improve quality
• Increase market share
• Replace outdated products or processes
• Increase product range
• Increase value-added
• Meet regulations
• Reduce costs
• Enter new markets
• Improve health and safety
• Reduce environment impact
• Provide a stimulating working environment 

• Uncertainty
• Operational difficulties
• Competition
• Generic products
• Costs of innovation
• Excessive risk
• Cost of finance
• Availability of finance
• Government and EU regulations
• A market dominated by established businesses
• Uncertain demand
• Lack of information on technology
• Lack of information on market

• Kaizen: a policy of implementing small, incremental changes in order to achieve innovation, better quality and/or greater efficiency. These changes are invariably suggested by employees and emanate from a corporate culture that encourages employees to identify potential improvements
• Research and Development: the scientific investigation necessary to discover new products or manufacturing processes, and the procedures necessary to ensure that these new products and processes are suited to the needs of the market
• Intrapreneurship: acting like an entrepreneur within a large organisation
• Benchmarking: the process of setting competitive standards, based on the achievements of other firms, against which a firm will monitor its progress. The benchmarking firm tends to focus on the companies that are the best in its industry ('best in class'), but for specific functions, a company may compare itself with firms in other industries

Intellectual property: any intangible assets that arise from human knowledge and ideas

Patent: An official document granting the holder the right to be the only user. or producer of a newly invented product or process for a specified period

Copyright: a legal protection against copying for authors, composers and artists

Trademark: Signs, logos, symbols or words displayed on a company's products or on its advertising, including sound or music, which distinguishes its brand from those of its competitors