Applications

The future has many names: For the weak it is the unattainable, for the fearful it is the unknown, for the brave it is opportunity (Hugo 2013). In this sense, assessing and driving innovation is crucial to the long-term viability of a company. In times of digital transformation, in which companies from outside the industry exploit gaps in innovation strategy to disrupt entire industry logics, the evolutionary development of existing products and services is no longer enough. Companies are faced with the challenge of also undertaking innovation projects with certain risks and also including one or two projects of a revolutionary nature on the agenda. The innovation risk matrix helps to make these risks transparent. With its help, a structured inventory can be made and the balance between investment risk and growth gaps can be established. An example is used to illustrate the role that the customer problem plays in innovation risk and how market risks and the technology, product and service risk of an innovation project are determined.