Innovation Excellence in Central and Eastern Europe A PwC Experience

Table of Contents 5

List of Figures 9

Preface 11

Introduction: Innovation is not unknown, but a systematic approach is lacking in Central and Eastern Europe 13

Size does not matter 15

In CEE the clocks are ticking at a different pace 19

Innovation is not just an easy way out of a crisis 23

Innovation performance catches up, slowly but surely 27

Why innovation is so hard 28

Outlook: How CEE can get to the top 33

1 PwC Success Formulas: What needs to be done first? 35

Innovations and consolidation influence each other 38

Which winner type are you? 45

Best practice examples prove the power of innovativeness 55

2 Innovation Concept: A must... made operational through rigorous day-to-day management 63

Screening of trends—get a picture of the future 68

Idea generation—the fuzzy front end of product development 75

Idea selection: Choosing between creativity and impact 89

Product development—from embedded ideas to embodied products 91

Product testing: Recognizing the limits 93

Product introduction—ready to reap the credits 95

3 Collaboration: Partnerships and alliances multiply innovation capacities 97

Coopetition—more than a temporary trend 103

Changing the subject: R&D cooperation with science partners 105

Success factors for both sides of the network 113

The PwC global network 115

4 Talent: People must commit themselves and need to be empowered 121

Innovation: An overall company effort 124

The Fantastic Five are better than a single superman 128

Case study ADRIA MOBIL: Continuity of talent management is what counts 132

Now is the time to start creating tomorrow’s company 135

Engaging key talents in innovation processes 137

5 Leadership: Ongoing top management involvement and example setting makes a company a strong innovator 141

Russian case studies: New systematic innovation processes—a question of leadership 142

Cases studies of global PwC best practices: 160

How to create innovative leadership 167

From employment to entrepreneurship 168

Topmanagement has to be on board 170

Creativity is the infinite source of innovation 171

Lifelong learning is a must 172

Most common blockades 173

PwC PowerPitch 174

6 Commercialization: Be first in the market with your innovations and differentiate 177

Product life cycle concept 179

Access the market with respect to different customer groups 184

Segments of innovation adopters during the product life cycle 189

Acceptance via contagion 191

Reach the customer by communication 194

Develop commercialization capability 197

Influences on product life cycle 200

7 Outlook: How CEE can get to the top 203

Bibliography 209

The Authors 215

Contributors of individual case studies 216