We are one of the largest economies in the world. However, few of the country's enterprises benefit from robust innovation mechanisms to support their competitive growth. In a study conducted by Alexandre Pierro, one of the few Brazilians who participated in the development of ISO 56001, innovation management.andFounding partner of PALAS, a pioneering consultancy in this methodology in Brazil, it was found that companies that use this international management methodology increase their understanding of the subject by 271%, gaining greater preparedness and capacity to generate innovation, yielding positive short-term results. The study is the result of a master's thesis conducted by the professional at the Federal University of ABC.
For almost two decades, we have occupied intermediate positions in the global innovation ranking, despite being such a vibrant economy and having such a large consumer market. According to the latest Global Innovation Index (GII), conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), we are in 50th place out of 133 countries. There is a significant inconsistency between our economic and innovation positioning. ISO 56001 is an excellent opportunity for us to reduce thisgap, scores Pierro.
The main objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of organizations before and after the implementation of the ISO innovation methodology. Within this, five specific objectives were considered: to compare the processes and innovation structure with or without the application of the standard; to analyze the company's innovation culture and compare it with or without the application of the standard; to analyze the launch of new products, services, or processes created with or without the application of the standard; to compare the annual financial revenue generated from innovation-related products with or without the application of the standard; and to compare the reach of the innovation strategy within the organization with or without the application of the standard.
The research methodology included an online questionnaire on innovation principles; an online questionnaire on innovation culture; and live interviews with innovation professionals from companies at tactical, strategic, and operational levels. The answer options for the online forms were: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree, and I don't know.
The first stage of the study surveyed 60 medium and large-sized companies from various sectors to identify the most commonly used innovation methodologies. The result pointed to three: Design Thinking, Brainstorm, and Agile. With this information, the professional applied the research methodology to 17 Brazilian companies that have already adopted the Innovation ISO. Among them are Grupo Boticário, Atento, CPFL Energia, Eneva, Copel, and many others with various sizes and segments.
According to Pierro, each company's responses were grouped and classified according to the pillars and concepts of the ISO 56000 family of standards, which comprises a comprehensive innovation management governance model, with ISO 56001 as the certifiable standard. The results were surprising.
According to the researcher, the level of understanding of overall innovation strategy is almost three times higher in companies that adopted ISO. Analyzing topics such as the definition of innovation; innovation goals; focus and type of innovation; innovation process; innovation objectives and indicators; innovation tools; and idea programs, the maturity level of strategic innovation leaders jumped from 35.71% to 87.50%; among the tactical team from 29.58% to 90.27%; and among the operational team from 32.70% to 88.10%.
The outlook on the ecosystem recorded a 58% increase to 67.1%. The communication improved from 55% to 69.5%. The resources needed to innovate – such as time, people, knowledge, infrastructure, andbudget- improved from 62% to 72%. "All these aspects are essential to ensure a continuous and high-impact innovation strategy."
Regarding culture, the fear of making mistakes decreased from 43.3% to 37.9%; demonstrating the creation of a safer and more supportive environment for presenting new ideas. "This fear creates a defense system within corporations, preventing professionals from sharing their ideas for fear of being reprimanded. ISO manages to make the corporate environment safer, with less resistance to innovation," celebrates Pierro.
All these highlighted improvements contribute to a greater balance between efforts and investments in innovations, which was also identified in the study. With this methodology, organizational ambidexterity – which is the ability to think about the future while meeting present needs – improved by about 10% in the surveyed companies, reinforcing a greater capacity to explore innovation.
The results achieved so far show that ISO 56001 can be an important methodology to boost innovation in our country. "This governance model is proving to be the most effective way to leverage innovation, creating numerous gains in strategy, ecosystem understanding, innovation culture, leadership, uncertainty management, communication, support, and process. It is our chance to improve our position in the global innovation ranking and become more competitive on the world stage," concludes Pierro.
