Study: Trends In Innovation Management

This article presents the results of a research study that interviewed over 50 companies about the role of trends in innovation management. The findings show that trend knowledge is mainly used to inform strategic decisions, product development, and consider future scenarios. Market, customer and technology knowledge continue to play an important role in trend management. Most companies are in the process of implementing structured trend management processes, however, software tools for trend management are mostly used in larger companies. Only a fraction of the surveyed companies process trends using software tools, despite the importance of trend monitoring in innovation management.