Supplier involvment in innovation processes : a taxonomy

For many companies, suppliers play an important role in innovation processes. One key issue concerns the degree of cooperation, such as an arm's length approach versus the use of relationships. Another issue concerns the scope of company involvement on the supply side, such as involvement of one supplier versus involvement of a network of companies. This article presents a taxonomy of supplier involvement in innovation processes. The empirical data consists of a case study of Norske Skog Skogn, a paper mill that is part of the world's second largest producer of newsprint, and one of its suppliers, ABB, a global engineering company. The article directs attention towards a variety of approaches to organising supplier involvement in innovation processes. The taxonomy may be useful in initiatives to increase awareness of the organisation of innovation processes and improve innovation process performance.