The Role of Top Management in Corporate Innovation Projects

Innovation is crucial for sustaining competitive advantage in business. By its very nature, corporate innovation activity takes the form of risky and often uncertain innovation projects. The commitment and active involvement of top management play a crucial role throughout the entire life cycle of corporate innovation, including ensuring resources, approving changes, evaluation, and possibilities for further utilization. This research aimed the discover the role of the top management in corporate innovation by defining the main characteristics of corporate innovation processes, breaking down the innovation process into various steps, and examining the roles of the business leaders within them. The research methodology combines a literature review with primary research constructed using questionnaire and in-depth professional interviews targeting the assessment and evaluation of top managers on different aspects of corporate innovation and its connection to leadership roles and responsibilities. This approach aims to measure the importance of corporate innovation and its possible results throughout the view of top management and identify and to understand how leaders see their roles within the innovation procedure. The results show a comprehensive and consistent approach to innovation management at the executive level and identify critical factors influencing this research topic. Based on the evaluation and the findings, a set of four different proposals has been defined to enhance the effectiveness of top management's involvement in corporate innovation projects.