Dal prodotto alla soluzione. L’importanza di innovare

[Autom. eng. transl.] The interest in innovation and the development of new products, new technologies, new methods or approaches characterizes contemporary B2B markets. Consequently, the problem of managing the development of new products and innovation processes in general has become, for some years now, the center of attention both in the marketing function and in top management. Managing innovation in companies represents a challenge for management; in order to conceive and adopt corporate behaviors aimed at supporting and fostering innovation, it is necessary to understand the processes underlying innovation. In this chapter we will focus on two ideas and related approaches that emerge from business experiences highlighted in a growing number of innovation studies and which are useful for guiding innovation management action in B2B contexts. The first concerns the need to adopt the 'solution' perspective, instead of the product-service one, while the second emphasizes the importance of being aware that innovation is a process that requires the involvement of numerous actors, in the first place. the customers themselves. Consequently, innovation is a process that is anything but linear since it implies a comparison of different logics between the actors. In this chapter we deal with understanding what makes innovative processes 'tortuous' and how to manage them appropriately. The chapter opens with some considerations on innovation in B2B markets and the need to focus on the development of 'solutions', rather than products-services, and then examines the consequences for the management of innovation in companies. B2B, starting from a case of developing a new solution.