Successful innovation through proactive methods
A joint study by the researchers at Karlstad and Linköping University in Sweden has proven that market research studies making use of proactive methods are more successful. The Swedish research team analysed the financial and innovative performance of business initiatives resulting from 195 market research studies of European companies in various industries. The statistical analysis demonstrates that using proactive methods to create ideas for new products and services leads to improved sales and higher profit margins when compared to ideas generated using reactive methods.
Successful innovation through proactive methods
A joint study by the researchers at Karlstad and Linköping University in Sweden has proven that market research studies making use of proactive methods are more successful. The Swedish research team analysed the financial and innovative performance of business initiatives resulting from 195 market research studies of European companies in various industries. The statistical analysis demonstrates that using proactive methods to create ideas for new products and services leads to improved sales and higher profit margins when compared to ideas generated using reactive methods.
In a follow-up experiment, proactive techniques in which consumers co-create an innovative product showed a greater impact on the profits of new products and services than techniques in which customers react to information. These ideas, generated using proactive methods, also lead to more “added value” as assessed by independent evaluators. The advantages are a result of the interactive process, allowing to tap into the creative potential of consumers, not of selecting particularly creative personalities or working with specially trained participants.
Besides creativity-boosting homework assignments, diaries or online bulletin boards, co-creation workshops and design thinking tools are part of our methodological toolbox for developing innovative ideas with potential. For each research goal, we design an individual approach aligning to the particularities of your business area and target group.