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Forget innovation – focus on value creation

Focusing on seven business cases from Finland, Forget innovation – focus on value creation, explains how innovation activities should be developed. The authors want to bring attention to new, surprising and genuinely human-centred operating methods. Companies and communities should act differently if they truly want to create value for customers.

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How can companies find innovative solutions and new business opportunities? What is human-centred innovation? What kind of products and services will become part of people’s everyday life? Forget innovation – focus on value creation, a recent publication by Sitra, answers these questions.

Focusing on seven business cases from Finland, Forget innovation – focus on value creation, explains how innovation activities should be developed. The authors want to bring attention to new, surprising and genuinely human-centred operating methods. Companies and communities should act differently if they truly want to create value for customers.

Users of products and services have information that companies badly need – but do they know where to find and how to use this information? In addition to financial value, innovation requires an understanding of social value and meaningful differentiation. Human-centred innovation seeks new ways to support customers’ value aspirations.

A report funded by Sitra and Tekes, Forget innovation – focus on value creation, includes recommendations for developing innovation activities. These recommendations stress the importance of a customer-focused approach, professional innovation management, completely new types of expertise, innovation in small teams whose members retain their personal responsibility, and rapid piloting that enables swift feedback.

The report examines innovation practices through the following seven cases in Finland: community-built housing, Golla, Tapiola Private Banking, Habbo Hotel, Sinebrychoff, Kone and Stora Enso.

Publication information

Forget innovation – focus on value creation
Minna Ruckenstein, Johannes Suikkanen, Sakari Tamminen
Sitra 291, Helsinki 2011.
ISBN: 978-951-37-6084-7
The printed version is available via publications@sitra.fi.
The publication may be downloaded for free as PDF file.
Download the publication »

More information

Minna Ruckenstein, Researcher, University of Helsinki, Social and Cultural Anthropology
Tel. +358 9 1912 3844, firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi

Johannes Suikkanen, Managing Partner, Gemic Oy
Tel. +358 50 355 7001, johannes@gemic.fi

Sakari Tamminen, Research Director, Gemic Oy
Tel. +358 50 361 4650, sakari@gemic.fi

Timo Hämäläinen, Sitra Fellow, Sitra, Strategic Renewal
Tel. +358 9 6189 9256, firstname.lastname@sitra.fi

Jari Romanainen, Executive Policy Adviser, Tekes
Tel. +358 10 605 5703, firstname.lastname@tekes.fi

Download the publication (PDF file):
Forget innovation – focus on value creation