[Podcast] “Innovation Management Model: Trends and Prospects”

19 March, 2025

Keywords: Innovation Management, Innovation, Technology

Innovation management has received much attention recently. Various studies have been conducted to clarify the importance of innovation activities for the development and the increase of competitiveness for enterprises. However, these studies assess different issues and aspects of innovation management activities and lack a comprehensive study to provide a model of factors affecting innovation management activities. For this reason, the researcher from University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) conducted the study “Overview of Innovation Management Model – Trends and Prospects” which built a model of 06 important factors of innovation management.

Research Background

Innovation management includes various activities to support and to promote the development and implementation of new initiatives, products, services and processes in an organization to enhance the competitiveness and performance of the organization. Innovation management has become an indispensable part of companies looking to adapt to rapid technological change and market instability. As businesses discover the importance of practicing innovation in their businesses, the research topic of innovation management has received more attention and been mentioned in many recent studies. Cooper once said “innovate or die” to show the necessity of implementing innovation activities in organizations. Recent studies also argue that innovation can help companies compete and improve services.

Looking at the overview of innovation research conducted in the world, it can be stated that the innovation management model, when viewed from the practical perspective, has led to the ability to create new values when businesses apply innovation to solve problems of the changing environment. Innovation results from the successful application of new ideas, or success in combining different resources. Meanwhile, with the development of information technology, the connection between new technology, new products and management models has increased, creating innovations, especially in companies focusing on developing sustainable competitive goals. Innovation management models have created changes, reformed existing business models, and created new models to bring more value to the parties involved in that business activity. Some elements of the innovation management model have been researched, like the behavior of competitors and the risks they face.

Innovation plays an important role in business operations. The role of innovation is increasingly focused on two main tasks: (1) transferring and applying technology to businesses, and (2) creating competitiveness to promote sustainable development for businesses. To fulfill both of these roles and tasks, applying innovation to businesses at present is an urgent requirement for businesses. However, in Vietnam, research on innovation has many limitations.

Firstly, research on innovation in general and innovation management models in particular is very limited. Research results mostly focus on assessing factors affecting innovation activities of enterprises, or looking at successful innovation models in the world and building application orientations for Vietnamese enterprises.

Secondly, research on innovation activities in Vietnam mostly relies on quantitative models, lacking general empirical studies to build models, or theoretical bases from which to provide a complete understanding of innovation in general and innovation management activities in particular in the Vietnamese market.

Therefore, the UEH research group decided to conduct the study “Overview of innovation management model – trends and prospects” by analyzing both the bibliography and the content of previous studies within 20 years (2003-2023).

Evaluation of research practices in the past 2 years on the topic of innovation management

After evaluating the research in the past 20 years on the topic of innovation management, it can be stated that managers and researchers interested in this issue are divided into 6 main research aspects: (1) strategic management of the organization, (2) project management, (3) knowledge management, (4) production management with a special focus on products, (5) research related to technological innovation; and finally (6) research on open innovation.

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Figure 1: Model of research on innovation management

Technological innovation is considered an important activity of innovation management in enterprises. From previous studies, it can be identified that technological innovation is often analyzed in parallel with knowledge management and open innovation. In addition, research focuses on the application of technological innovation and its impact on business operations, business resilience, and competitiveness.

Open innovation research topic has received the most attention in recent years because of the support and promotion of the government to cope with the unstable economic environment. Open innovation has also received attention from many different fields and professions, beyond the business environment, some studies in fields such as medicine, psychology, or high-tech engineering have also been found. Many studies related to open innovation are linked to knowledge management and production management. Other studies revolve around the construction of open innovation strategies or its impact on business operations.

Trends in Open Innovation Management

* Development trends of open innovation models

In recent years, several development trends of open innovation models have been suggested, reflecting the changes in the way organizations take advantage of external cooperation, promoting co-creation and balancing the relationships among different parties in the ecosystem.

First is the trend of building open innovation networks and ecosystems. As companies realize the limitations of relying solely on their internal R&D Departments, they will need to look outside, that is, to consider the research and development capabilities of partners (including universities, research organizations, startups, and other parties in the same ecosystem) to jointly create innovative solutions. These ecosystems create platforms that allow parties to share knowledge and resources to promote innovation.

The second is the trend of co-creation on digital platforms. Today’s digital platforms are places to attract communities outside the business like customers, innovators, and independent researchers to participate in solving problems and initiating ideas for developing new products. These platforms allow businesses to tap into talent and ideas from different parties external to the business. Through technology platforms and co-creation activities, companies can generate new ideas to foster creativity and innovation.

*The trend of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into innovation management activities

Another trend is the integration of new techniques and technologies listed as AI, big data and ML into the innovation activities and processes of enterprises. These technologies will help companies collaborate, share information, and analyze large volumes of data more easily, leading to better decision-making and faster innovation cycles in enterprises.

The development of artificial intelligence has become an extremely important tool in analyzing data, identifying models, and predicting market trends to develop innovation strategies. AI can process large amounts of data from different sources, making companies discover new opportunities and optimize their product development processes.

*Sustainable development and green innovation trends

The shift towards sustainability in innovation has become an important trend, driven by the increased concern for the environment and the greenhouse effect. As a result, recent years have seen significant progress in sustainable development and green innovation because of the urgent need to address climate change and resource depletion. The main trend is decarbonization, in which industries are switching to renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Another trend is the development of the circular economy, promoting recycling, reuse and waste reduction through smart systems. In addition, the industrial and agricultural sectors are applying green technologies to their production processes, aiming for sustainability and reducing environmental impacts. The current trend when it comes to sustainable development is that businesses integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into innovative business models. These new trends are to be towards sustainable development and green innovation.

* Trends in applying digital platforms to innovation management

Along with the continuous development of technology, new technologies are emerging to make people’s lives easier. Digital platforms provide a centralized space where stakeholders can share creative ideas, activities, and manage projects in real time. With open innovation, working on digital platforms brings many advantages for stakeholders to contribute to the innovation activities of businesses. Some new technology platforms are often used, bringing efficiency to businesses, for example, AI, big data, machine learning, etc.

Currently, it can be stated that virtual and digital platforms have become the center of promoting business development because members can work together, contribute, and cooperate flexibly on these platforms.

Contribution of this study

The study of the UEH research group demonstrates that it is necessary, in order to implement innovation management activities positively and comprehensively, to apply the model of 6 aspects of innovation management, including organizational strategy management, project management, knowledge management, technological innovation, product production management, and open innovation. This can be considered a premise to promote the development of businesses associated with innovation management. This study examines the topic of innovation from recent scientific publications, based on the Theory of Economic Development. The study seeks to investigate different aspects of the innovation process and notes that research in the field of business administration on innovation is more oriented towards innovative activities and, in a way, goes beyond the five cases of innovation presented by Schumpeter (1934) in the early twentieth century.

Open innovation trends are likely to focus more deeply and broadly on sustainability; what is more, social and legal factors will have a greater impact on innovation activities. Beyond this, the future trend of innovation activities also focuses on the key role of digital leaders. They are digital experts and are better equipped to lead the entire organization towards digital transformation activities. It is thanks to the strategic vision of digital leaders, digital transformation activities, and the application of advanced technologies and processes to enhance innovation activities.

Research on innovation management in the future requires continued research on emerging technologies like AI, automation, and blockchain technology affecting the innovation process. Future research could consider assessing the impact of different types of innovation on customer adoption, or exploring how organizations overcome barriers like intellectual property protection. In addition, the sustainable role of open innovation management models and their implications for business performance could be examined.

The full article on Overview of Innovation Management Models – Trends and Prospects can be accessed HERE.

Authors: Dr. Do Thi Hai Ninh, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Quang Hung, Dr. Phan Thi Bao Quyen – University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH)

This article is part of the series spreading research and applied knowledge from UEH with the message “Research Contribution For All”. UEH cordially invites readers to read the next UEH Research Insights newsletter.

News, photos: The authors, UEH Department of Communications and Partnerships