Towards the Functional Roles of an Innovation Laboratory as a Platform for Innovation: An Observational Approach

The main question guiding this paper is ‘how are innovation laboratories a potential source of assistance for businesses in undertaking innovation projects?' Because of the focused and case-based nature, the extant literature on innovation laboratories falls insufficient in explaining the functional contributions of innovation laboratories towards a systematic, efficient, effective, and ultimately successful innovation management of products, processes and services of business organizations. In this esteem, the present study examines the current practices and functioning of innovation laboratories in field settings by employing a multistep research methodology. As a result, eight key functionalities and thirty associated offerings of innovation laboratories that add substantial value in maximizing the chances of success are herein determined and discussed. Moreover, the findings reveal that a particular innovation laboratory focuses on only a subset of identified functionalities and thereby influences the innovation process at a different stage and in a different manner. Accordingly, the paper debates the impacts of different functionalities towards the innovation process.