Mission and Objectives - Innova Institute

The Innova Institute is part of GREITIM (Grup de Recerca en Gestió de l'Emprenedoria i la Innovació de base Tecnològica), an emergent research group recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The Innova Institute mission is to produce cutting-edge research in the areas of ICT Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Working around the world, the Institute is inspired by the institutional values of La Salle, to integrate people from a wide variety of origins to advance in the generation of scientific knowledge.

The researchers at the Innova Institute lead the application of advanced academic research outputs, into technological innovation processes in companies that face economic and social transformation challenges. The Institute promotes the education of first level researchers, providing them with the competencies, knowledge and skills needed to integrate theories and practice in the areas of engineering and business management.

The Innova Institute collaborates internationally to bring intellectual leadership to organizations and companies facing challenges on technological innovation and entrepreneurship. The Institute positions itself as an independent actor, interested in attracting partners with similar interests, to participate in the creation of welfare by supporting the foundation of new technology-based companies and by improving the established companies by means of technological innovation.

Strategic Objectives:

The Innova Institute is driven by the following objectives:

  • Be the home of research in technological innovation and entrepreneurship of the Business Engineering School (BES).
  • Be an active member in the technology innovation management community.
  • Be a relevant agent in the promotion of technology innovation activity in Catalonian business networks.
  • Be an international research reference center in IT Management and Entrepreneurship.
  • Be socially responsible in our actions and initiatives.

Research Lines - Innova Institute

The Innova Institute works in the research areas linked to its mission fulfilling its objectives.

Innovation and its life cycle:

This research line includes all issues related to how organizations innovate and the life cycle it follows. With this perspective, this area covers from the creativity to the transformation process of the innovative idea into the product or service. It is also of interest the different shapes that innovation takes in organizations, including the impact of functional areas involvement and the definition of the innovation process implementation.

The study of innovation has been approached from different paradigms, among others, the creative destruction of Shumpeter, the disruptive innovation of Christensen, and more recently, the Open Innovation of Chesbrough. The Innova Institute research aims to make it easier for companies to use these open innovation frameworks to foster the performance of their innovation initiatives.

IT Management:

The field of technology management analyses how organizations govern the impact of technology and technological innovation. It affects both, how organizations try to get the best result of the technology, and the way functional areas optimize the use of technology in its processes and structures. It is also of interest to this research area the study of the diffusion and adoption of new technologies and the variables that affect these processes.

Organizations are required to position themselves in relation to endless waves of technology, ensuring to be capable to adapt to organizational changes. Organizations live in a situation of chaos, in constant change, and after a major adaptation effort on their processes and communication strategies to the demands of the Internet, now they need to foresee how the social networks can help or threaten its strategy and they relation with their partners; all this in a global environment with multi-cultural traits that influence the success of any deployment.

Entrepreneurship:

The focus of this research area is in the whole entrepreneurial process, from the detection of opportunities for new venture developments, until the company's projects turns into a reality. It is priority to study the processes of opportunity detection and entrepreneurship from a viewpoint that includes the analysis of the internal and external actors’ participation. A further objective of this field of research is to study the role of the functional areas in the development and start-up of new business projects.

Institutions and governments are aware that entrepreneurship is a key element in the economic development. Therefore, there is a shared interested in analyzing the underlying factors that influence and can promote entrepreneurial opportunities identification and expansion.

What can the Innova Institute do for you?

The Innova Institute aims to establish an intense relationship with its environment; therefore it uses a wide spectrum of devices and mechanisms to sustain this relationship.

In the socio-economic area, the Institute contributes with the knowledge created by its research projects to help companies and public institutions to understand better new technologies and the innovation’s role in the improvement of its economical and social value, as well as in its competitiveness. The Institute regularly prepares reports that cover a wide range of interests, with in-depth analysis and recommendations. Furthermore, in a regular basis, the Institute also publishes articles, case studies and organizes discussions groups to contribute to new ideas discussions in relation to technological innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Institute researchers work with the international scientific community to advance in the generation of research in the areas of ICT Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. These efforts are reflected in the publication in academic journals, congresses, presentations and working papers available to those that might be interested in them. The Innova Institute is also involved in the coordination of diverse research groups in the scientific community.

The Innova Institute is closely linked with the teaching programs at the Business Engineering School. These programs benefit from the research outcomes of the Innova Institute. The Innovation, Entrepreneurship and ICT Management courses taught in the engineering and business administration programs benefit from the contributions of the Institute. In a similar manner the Institute offers short-term academic stays and research projects collaboration opportunities.

People that integrate the Institute

Innova Institute Director

The Institute is led by Dr. Francesc Miralles. Dr. Miralles has developed his professional career in both academia and business management. His research activity is focused on studying the impact of technology in organizations, the development of innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities. Before joining the BES, Dr. Miralles was involved in other academic activities in universities where he participated in research projects and international scientific committees.

His management activities directed him to lead the Fundació per a l’Observatori de la Societat de la Informació de Catalunya (FOBSIC). Previously, he held management positions in multinational companies in the technology sector.

Researchers

The Innova Institute is made up of researchers with varied profiles, from researchers in training to researchers with an extensive experience in business and academic areas.

  • Francesc Miralles, Ph.D.
  • David Riu, Ph.D.
  • Chris Kennett, Ph.D.
  • Kerem Gurses, Ph.D.
  • Laurentiu Neamtu, Ph.D.
  • Paul Fox, Ph.D.
  • Carla Riverola, Ph.D.
  • Gabriela Balladares, M.Sc.
  • Bianca Villar, ESR
  • Marcela Garza
  • Zelu Zhang

Researchers (Past)

Along these years several researchers have been part of the team of the Innova Institute.

  • Simeon Vidolov, Ph.D.
  • Ferran Giones, Ph.D.
  • Nadia Noori, Ph.D
  • Diana Picon
  • Sergio Martin
  • Kateryna Bondar, Ph.D
  • Irene Guzman
  • Ferran Gimenez
  • Rosa Rudo
  • Irene Muñoz
  • Carles Salas
  • Patricia Oller
  • Cristina Mallen
  • Guillem Cuesta
  • Ivan Tapia

Partners

ISPIM

International Society for Professional Innovation Management

NITIM

Ph.D. Consortium on Networks, Information Technology & Innovation Management

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