"A common thread in my work is to support innovation management"

Ingrid Kihlander has been in place as an adjunct professor in innovation management at the Swedish Defence University since October 9, 2023.

She comes from the research institute Rise where she holds a position as a senior researcher, with a particular interest in innovation management systems and the professionalization of innovation management.

"My main research questions revolve around how to build long-term innovation capability and work with innovation more systematically."

With an engineering background, she has worked in product, concept, and business development within the automotive industry before obtaining her PhD from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2011, focusing on decision-making in the early stages of product development.

"That's when I got into the management and organization of innovation and renewal work. How do you lead a development project of something you don't really know what it is yet, and how do you bring systematics into that work?"

Developing innovation capability across different sectors

In her work at Rise, she collaborates with organizations and companies in various sectors that want to develop their innovation capabilities.

"A common thread in my work is to support innovation management. The big question is how to build innovation capability. I believe it's beneficial to have a structure that provides both opportunities and capacity to work with innovation methodically and over time."

She also emphasizes the importance of integrating innovation work into regular operations.

"Not just as a campaign - now everyone should come up with some good ideas - but more systematically and enduringly," she says.

Leadership, resources and long-term focus

To succeed, organizations must allocate resources and train people to think more creatively. It also requires time and opportunities to evaluate the results, as well as mechanisms to implement the new solutions.

"The management also needs to accept that you don't always come up with good ideas on the first try. You have to work exploratively rather than ordering a clear result, and have leadership that dares to follow up on other parameters."

A lot has happened in the field since she started her research. One thing that has had a major impact on companies and organizations' innovation work is the standards developed by ISO (International Organization for Standardization), she argues.

"It may sound a bit dull, but the fact that these standardized frameworks have emerged means that more organizations dare to take the step towards working systematically with innovation management."

Uncertainty and learning in the innovation process

Her interest in innovation management is primarily driven by curiosity and a desire to find solutions.

"I'm very curious by nature, and then everything becomes exciting. Some of the basic mechanisms in innovation are uncertainty and learning. You may not know exactly where you end up, and I find that particularly exciting. Then it's challenging and a bit difficult, which is also attractive."

Building a research environment with stronger roots in innovation management

At the Swedish Defence University, she hopes to contribute to strengthening the research environment linked to the field of innovation management and contribute her knowledge primarily to research projects in the field of systems science for defence and security.

"I will still have some of my position left at Rise, and here I see opportunities to develop more collaborations, for example, for industrial doctoral students. Then there may also be a need for research on innovation management in, among other places, the Swedish Armed Forces, which I look forward to exploring. But I will start by thoroughly familiarizing myself with the field and talking to my new colleagues to begin orienting myself in the subject."

Josefin Svensson