Innovation development in leading Croatian enterprises: Review of the most important findings

Unatoč velikom zanimanju za razvoj inovacija u hrvatskim poduzećima, postoji nedostatak sistematskih studija o toj temi. Ovaj članak se temelji na istraživanju u kojem je sudjelovalo 100 vodećih hrvatskih poduzeća. U članku se daje pregled najvažnijih rezultata u vezi sa strukturom inovacija, te inovativnosti proizvoda i procesa, pri čemu se uzima u obzir veličina tvrtke. Istražuje se odakle dolaze ideje za nove proizvode, te na koji su način uvjeti za uspješnost novih proizvoda povezani s njihovim razvojem. U članku se također govori o strukturiranom procesu razvoja novih proizvoda, postupku koji pomaže poduzećima da učinkovitije i s većim izgledima za uspjeh pristupe razvoju novih proizvoda.There is much talk in Croatia about the capability of Croatian companies to innovate. However, there is a lack of systematic studies on innovations development in Croatia. This paper aims to bridge that gap by reporting on a study that was performed on 100 leading Croatian companies. The paper addresses the structure of innovation in surveyed leading companies, and examines the novelty level of new products and processes. It explores whether firms of different sizes differ in their innovation output, and whether the continuity with which firms perform research activities has any impact on their innovation output. The sources of new product ideas are explored, as well as some preconditions for the new product success. As managing new product development improves the success rate, this paper examines the prevalence of such processes in companies. The impact of the new product development process on the innovation output is explored