Innovationsledningspraxis för Stärkt Verkställande Styrning

Abstract

In increasingly decentralized organizations, aligning innovation governance with strategic decision-making has become a growing challenge. This study explored how a global industrial company, comprising hundreds of autonomous business entities, could enhance its product development methodology to better support executive-level product investment decisions. The current system, anchored in a linear waterfall process, has remained largely unchanged for a long period of time despite significant growth in organizational complexity and demand for newer methodologies. Using surveys issued to top-level decision-makers, follow-up interviews, and internal documentation, the study identified key decision criteria for go/no-go investment decisions and revealed key areas for organizational improvement. The criteria were evaluated and ranked using a tailored fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The findings indicated that executive leadership should review criteria related to financial impact; strategic fit; product value, market, and customer understanding; and risk awareness. Identified improvement areas included increased project flexibility, better decision timing, stronger strategy alignment, and deeper customer insight. The thesis provides a foundation for revising product innovation practices and tools to strengthen executive governance, improve decision quality, and support sustainable growth.