The Innovation Spiral: Launching New Products in Shorter Time Intervals

1. Introduction.- 2. Literature Review.- 3. The theoretical analysis of the innovation spiral.- 4. Testing the empirical relevance of the innovation spiral.- 5. Conclusions and implications.

Dr. Gabriele Trinkfass war Assistentin am Institut für Handel, Absatz und Marketing der Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck. Heute ist sie für Procter & Gamble Austria tätig.

Our time is characterised by a general acceleration trend. One facet of this phenomenon is the steady decline of product innovation cycles which results in the paradox that many firms make their own goods obsolete within increasingly shorter time periods. For a better understanding of this „innovation spiral“ Gabriele Trinkfass identifies the reasons why decision-makers in companies are launching a rising number of new products within increasingly shorter time intervals. She also analyses potential short- and long-term consequences of this behaviour. The subsequent empirical analysis of the innovation spiral by means of comprehensive case studies shows its significant relevance for highly competitive international markets.