Five strategy shifts for innovation

Purpose In an era where competitive landscapes are changing dynamically, traditional strategic approaches are no longer delivering the value required to support growth in many organizations. In response, many organizations have pursued an innovation agenda, but with mixed results. This paper offers five implementation “shifts” for more effective strategy execution. Design/methodology/approach Based on two recent global innovation studies, five strategy shifts were identified, permitting organizations to amplify their strategy without having to completely abandon current methods. These shifts were derived by analyzing the most polarizing differences between high innovative organizations and low innovative organizations in the global innovation studies. Findings The five strategy shifts include the engagement in innovation culture management, strategic external collaborations, advanced technologies, innovation methodologies, and measurement of innovation. Originality/value Examples of how organizations can operationalize strategy shifts are provided so executives can increase innovativeness and see how traditional strategic approaches fall short.