Innovation Evaluation Programs: Do They Help the Inventors?

Empirical analysis is presented of an innovation evaluation program designed to judge the commercial feasibility of new products and ideas. The program focuses on the difficulty in obtaining a legitimate and unbiased analysis of the new product idea. A questionnaire designed to measure the inventor&...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of small business management 1989-07, Vol.27 (3), p.23-30
Main Authors: Bowman-Upton, Nancy, Seaman, Samuel L, Sexton, Donald L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Effectiveness
Entrepreneurs
Evaluation research
Innovations
Inventions
Inventors
Product development
Products, New
Programs
Small business
Studies
Success
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Summary:Empirical analysis is presented of an innovation evaluation program designed to judge the commercial feasibility of new products and ideas. The program focuses on the difficulty in obtaining a legitimate and unbiased analysis of the new product idea. A questionnaire designed to measure the inventor's assessment of the innovation evaluation program was mailed to the 250 most recent users of the program. About 24% of the 93 responses fell into the below 40% estimate of success, 58% were in the mid-success range of 45%-60%, and 18% were in the high probability of success range. Of the 17 respondents who received encouraging results, 9 attempted to commercialize their products, and 6 were successful. The initiation of a new business was also a frequent and desirable side effect. Empirical evidence lends support to earlier research on the integration of the inventor-entrepreneurial role. An unanticipated result was the program's encouragement of other product development.
ISSN:0047-2778
1540-627X