1 // Professor Weissenberger-Eibl, what do you understand by innovation?
The concept is often understood very narrowly as technological novelty. At the Fraunhofer ISI we understand it in a much wider sense, to include service, organization and process innovations. So we see the concept of innovation as broadly as possible and not only examine new products and how they are accepted on the market, but also analyse what impact an innovation can have on services, on other realms of the economy, on the social system and on society in general.
2 //When is a good idea a genuine innovation?
We only speak of an actual innovation when it involves a marketable novelty. For this to succeed, a process – preferably a systematically planned process – must be envisaged from the initial idea onwards. A supportive innovation structure in a company is necessary so as to establish a framework both for idea scouting and for innovation management.
3 //What company climate promotes innovation?
Interdisciplinary teams, from engineer to social scientist to physicist, are an important factor. Furthermore, companies must consciously provide scope for action. And have courage: it should be possible to install certain processes even if they are perhaps not immediately successful.
4 //What is an example of successful innovation?
From the car industry there is the ceramic brake pad. That was indeed a radical step. The use of another material for brakes and at the same time an improvement in the brake performance. It is also an example of how, through minor changes in the technical field, new material features can be developed which are then applicable in very different fields.
5 //How innovative are German companies considered to be abroad?
Certain image features in market-ready innovations are also highly respected abroad. There are in no way just product innovations, but bundles of achievements, that is to say, a combination of product, business model and service offer.
6 //Which sectors do you see as the fields of the future?
A very important field for the future will be the interaction between biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology. Here too, product, service and business model can be bundled. What is interesting is that mainly the classical mechanical and automotive engineering sector has recognised the potential and opportunities offered by this. That branch of industry is exercising its strengths here, expanding it know-how and thus advancing new technologies.
Personal data
Prof. Dr. Marion A. Weissenberger-Eibl has been head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) since April 2007. The business administrator has held the Chair of Innovation and Technology Management at Kassel University for six years.
At the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe – one of Europe’s leading institutes in this field –Professor Weissenberger-Eibl and her colleagues examine the preconditions for, and impacts of innovations on society. The triad of Future and Systems Research and Political Consulting is the main focus of the interdisciplinary ISI team, which compiles its recommendations and analyses on the basis of quantitative and qualitative methods implemented in six different Competence Centres. The Institute sees itself as an independent advanced thinker for society, politics and business, and supports decision-makers in setting strategic directions.
www.isi.fraunhofer.de
