ISO56002 ‒ a global standard for innovation management systems was published 2019 and empirical validation of using the standard is so far limited. This study investigates design and introduction of innovation management systems based on ISO56002 and explores the impact this brings to the studied organizations. 

Two organizations, a UK-based consultancy firm in engineering, and a Japan-based information and technology company, both explicitly utilizing ISO 56002 and considered as leading examples were studied. A qualitative approach was chosen, mainly based on interviews in order to open for elaborations on the emerging phenomenon of innovation management systems based on a standard. 

The study shows that the ISO56002 brought value to both organizations, despite them being in different sectors. The standard does not provide detail solutions, instead it is used as support to actively apply a systems approach to innovation covering strategic, structural, and cultural issues all together. Specifically, management functions are supported to address strategy and culture, including design structures for fencing space for exploration, risk-taking and experimentation. Critical features to enable this, such as appointing a core team with a long-term ambition, are identified and discussed. 

A professionalization within the area of innovation management is taking place, and this paper presents a study on the phenomenon of personal certification as an innovation management professional. The study has investigated motivations for taking a personal certification as an innovation management professional, and impacts from it, addressing certified individuals, their organizations, and potential contributions to professionalization. The study was conducted in Sweden related to the personal certification of innovation management professionals launched in 2017by the Swedish Association for Innovation Management Professionals (Innovationsledarna) and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden as a third-partycertification body. Identified motivational factors covered desired knowledge enhancement, measuring of competence level, a strive for legitimacy, and curiosity. Impact from taking the certifications were for example increased knowledge, enhanced professional communication about innovation management, boosted selfconfidence, expanded network, and more opportunities to influence. The current situation was also analyzed from a professionalization perspective as well as discussed in terms of innovation maturity and innovation diffusion.

This paper addresses how personal certification in innovation management can contribute to the ongoingprofessionalisation within the innovation management discipline. The empirical study focused a projectin Sweden initiated to develop qualification, specifically personal certification, of innovation managementprofessionals. The project resulted in a certification process and a first batch of certified innovationmanagement professionals. The study aimed to capture the individuals’ reasons for, as well as results andeffects from, choosing to acquire a voluntary personal certification within innovation management. A widerange of reasons for taking the certifications was reported such as willingness to learn more, willingness toformalise innovation management competence, a wish to clarify roles, but also to promote the discipline itself.Certification was apprehended as a trustworthy format to achieve this. Identified effects were establishmentof a common language, increased visibility of individuals, and innovation management professionals to feelmore confident in their jobs.

Organizations can implement an innovation management system in order to address the multidimensional challenges they often have in their practical innovation work. Until the ISO 56002 standard was released in 2019, there was no international standard for the design of innovation management systems. The standard provides support as a framework and highlights important systems elements. We studied two early adopters that have used this international standard to design their innovation management systems. Based on the study findings, we devised a practical approach for framing the design of an innovation management system. The approach includes a set of steps and critical considerations that include understanding a company's innovation ambitions and direction, analyzing the systemic dimensions of the system (the elements and how they interconnect), and introducing a balanced set of control mechanisms.

This chapter presents results from initial studies on personal certifications of innovation management professionals, drawing from a Swedish context. The results capture motivations for, as well as effects from, the certification process. They are discussed from the perspective of how this is relevant for developing and enhancing innovation leadership competencies. Increased knowledge, enhanced professional communication, and strengthened self-confidence related to innovation management were identified as outcomes for individuals pursuing the certifications. Further, this laid the ground for increased visibility, expanded network, and thus more opportunities to influence innovation work. An overarching theme appearing in the study is how a certification can contribute to strengthening the legitimacy of working with innovation management, and thus serve as an enabler for innovation management practice and subsequently innovation leadership. Effects from the certification that may be beneficial for successful innovation leadership include the opportunity for practitioners to articulate their own experiences and competencies, in addition to improving the impact of their efforts utilising innovation terminology. For organisations, knowledge of personal certification can be used both for recruitment and for development of existing personnel and their innovation leadership. Through a longer perspective, it can also contribute to decreasing the dependence on a few specific individuals and instead strengthen the long-term organisational innovation capabilities.

En vägledande ISO-standard för innovationsledningssystem (ISO 56002) publicerades 2019. Den ger möjlighet att följa hur ett sådant ramverk kan stödja organisationer som vill stärka sin innovationsförmåga med hjälp av en systemansats. Den här artikeln delar insikter från fallstudier bland annat på organisationer som uttalat har använt ISO-standarden för att implementera ett innovationsledningssystem.

An innovation strategy aims to provide guidance in terms of direction and prioritisation regarding innovation efforts. This study explores formulation and implementation of innovation strategy in the context of a case study of an organisation that explicitly deploys the guidance standard for innovation management systems ISO56002. Interviews were conducted and were analysed together with an abundance of company documentation, spanning seven years. The empirical results convey how intertwined the work on innovation strategy was with the formulation and implementation of the company’s innovation management system (based on ISO56002). The study addressed the call for more research on strategy implementation and showed the innovation strategy (part of the ISO 56002 Leadership element) influencing the other system elements within the innovation management system. Further, it is important to use a system of systems approach to integrate an Innovation Management System with other management systems. This may be achieved through ambidextrous leadership competences given that the management systems have with different purposes, properties and actions. Finally, as an innovation management system develops, it is important to adapt rather than over-optimise in order to for retain flexibility required to innovate.  

The ISO Innovation Management System (IMS) Standard (ISO 56002) provides a much needed and well-timed input to the innovation management discipline. While research efforts within the domain of innovation management have vastly increased over the past decades, research has primarily been conducted through specific contributions to distinct areas of innovation management (e.g., top management, culture, processes), lacking a more holistic perspective. Practitioners know that managing innovation is challenging. Bringing in a globally recognised standard that offers a holistic perspective will be key in professionalising the innovation management discipline, much like quality management and project management standards have done in the past. This book focuses on the ISO Innovation Management System Standard and the links with ISPIM's Body of Knowledge (BoK) special interest group, the ISO innovation management community, and the International Collaboration Platform for Innovation Management System (ICP4IMS). It covers four topics as follows: • Introduction to a systems approach for innovation management and the ISO Innovation Management System Standard (ISO 56002), including historical context, descriptions of terms, typology, and the clauses in the Standard. • Elaboration of the innovation management fundamentals and principles (ISO 56000). • Features 16 case studies of diverse organisations from around the globe, including those that have implemented a management system before the Standard was released and those following it now, completely or partially. • Lessons learned and implications, including insights for how to take innovation management to its next level to address opportunities and challenges in organisations and societies.