Uncertainties in the Innovation Process : The Impact of External Uncertainties

This thesis is about How External Uncertainties Affect the Innovation Process. Written during the spring term of 2020 by Simon Algotsson and Johan Öhlander. The thesis main goal is to generate knowledge about the properties and sources of external uncertainties and create an understanding of how they can come to affect an innovation process. This research encourages organizations that are planning to participate, or currently resides in an innovation process to give it a read. Anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of the impact of external uncertainties may use our findings as a source of inspiration. The research question we have answered is: How do external uncertainties affect the innovation process? As the title and research question shows, innovation and uncertainties are the two most common denominators in this work. Presented in the theoretical framework is previous research done concerning the innovation process, and what it consists of. As well as how other researchers describe different types of uncertainties. We have also constructed our own model of how external uncertainties can give rise to internal uncertainties. For this type of research, a qualitative method has been selected, since it enabled us to go in-depth in one specific innovation process. We have conducted two interviews with the CEO and CFO of a company referred to as Gamma. They have both shared their own perspectives of the innovation process their company has gone through. The data collected from the interview has been transcribed separately and is later presented in the empirical evidence. The final sections of this thesis include the analysis and the conclusion. In these chapters we draw parallels between the research presented in the theoretical framework and Gamma's innovation process. The process we have investigated for this thesis encountered several uncertainties, both internal and external. In the analysis we present the authors own model of how external uncertainties came to affect Gamma's innovation process. The conclusion discusses the significant findings of the research such as how Gamma's innovation turned into a 'black hole' for the profits generated by the company