Communicating the business value of innovation

Successful innovation depends upon effective communication of the business value of innovation. Yet different stages of the innovation process require different communication strategies. Companies who have recognized the different elements of the innovation process are able to target their communication mechanisms to achieve the best results from organizational innovation. In this article, we employ Desouza's model of intrapreneurship to outline key communication challenges and strategies for addressing them across the five phases of innovation: idea generation and mobilization, idea screening and advocacy, experimentation with ideas, commercialization of ideas, and diffusion and implementation of ideas. The importance of communication to each stage is identified and barriers are noted. Drawing from first-hand interviews, case studies and a literature review, and further refined by presentation of the ideas to various executives, we propose in this article seven communication strategies for organizations to consider across the innovation process. Overall, having a clear understanding of the stages of the innovation process, and the kinds of communication that are most beneficial to each stage provides a clear vision of how to communicate the business value of innovations both internally and to external stakeholders. The effectiveness of communication can determine the success or failure of an innovation project.