Innovation needs more than technology
How do innovations emerge that are not only technologically convincing, but also commercially successful? And why is it not enough to invest in research, development or new technologies alone?
These questions were at the center of the Expert Talk with Hon.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Plasonig from the Technical University of Munich at TU Wien Academy.
The interplay of product, organization and culture
The focus was on the EPOC model – the “Equivalence of Product, Organization and Culture”. It describes how product, organization and culture need to interact in order for companies to remain innovative in the long term.
In his talk, Plasonig showed that technological development can never be viewed in isolation. Products do not emerge in a vacuum. They are always a reflection of the organization that develops them and of the culture in which decisions are made, knowledge is applied and change is enabled.
Turning technological competence into business impact
Drawing on numerous examples from industry, mobility, technology and corporate practice, Plasonig illustrated how strongly the commercial success of innovations depends on a company’s ability to translate technological capabilities into viable business models.
Research and development are important prerequisites – but they only create impact when combined with market understanding, organizational learning and a suitable corporate culture.
Complexity as a leadership task
Another focus of the talk was how companies deal with complexity. Modern products today consist of a wide range of components, systems, data flows and dependencies. This also changes the demands placed on management and leadership.
It is no longer only about optimizing individual products, but about understanding interdependencies: between technology and regulation, user behavior and safety issues, value chains and strategic dependencies.
Making innovation effective
For leaders in particular, the ability to not only recognize technological developments, but also place them in an organizational context and make them commercially useful, is becoming increasingly important. Innovation emerges where technological competence, entrepreneurial thinking and cultural openness come together.
The Expert Talk clearly demonstrated what working at the intersection of technology, management and leadership is about: not innovation as a buzzword, but the concrete question of how companies can create structures in which new knowledge becomes effective.
TU Wien Academy would like to thank Hon.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Plasonig for his insightful talk and all participants for the engaging exchange.