Offering a Conceptual Framework to Identify the Right Tools to Formulate Innovation Strategy Using Integrating Innovative Capabilities and Decision Making Methods

Of all the aspects of management of technological innovation (MTI), innovation strategy is the most challenging. Appropriate MTI, leads to value delivery, sustaining competitiveness, profit making, refreshing working environments, maintaining and retaining productive labor. Successful MTI occurs solely when a broad set of elements and organizational activities are well managed and integrated within innovation strategy of organization. Firms can be very good at the various activities involved in MTI, such as R&D or operations, but this accounts for little unless it is supported by a well-grounded innovation strategy that guides firms’ choices, prioritizations, and sequences. One of the concepts in the field of innovation strategy is innovative capabilities. Innovative capabilities are defined as bundles and patterns of skills used by firms to formulate and implement an innovation strategy involving the creation, extension, and modification of those resources and skills used for innovation. In each phase of the innovation strategy formulation, different tools may be used. Choosing the right tool depends on various criteria. Some of the criteria are as follows: Is firm new or well established, large or small, centralized or dispersed in its organization, deals in simple or complex products and services, operates within well-defined or uncertain technological and market circumstances, with a major or minor impact on society, safety, and the environment. In the article, using an integrated approach of innovative method and innovative decision-making method based on engineering technical innovation, and innovative capabilities, right tools in each phase of innovative capabilities, which finally leads to strategy formulation, is recognized. Some of the most practical tools are SWOT analysis and Delphi.