2026年企业创新趋势：来自1000+对话的关键洞察

The 2026Top TrendsinCorporate Innovation Key Learnings From 1,000+ Conversations Rethinking innovationproductivity Innovationleaders are entering a newphase of productivity. After years of buildingteams, running pilots, and driving culturalchange,the mandate is shifting fromexploration to measurable value creation.In 2026, innovation decentralizes, visibilityrecenters,andperformancereplacespromise. ITONICSworks with more than 500innovation leaders, helping them achievethreetimeshigherinnovationROI.Drawing on more than 1,000 cross-industryconversations,the 2026 Top Trends inCorporate Innovation captures the clearestpatterns:six shifts now separate theperformers from the storytellers. This report distills those shifts and offersafocused 2026 priority list to makeinnovation management more disciplined,more transparent, and more productive. Dr. Christian Mühlroth Chief Executive Officer +49 (0)30 577 02 200chris@itonics-innovation.com Executive summary Innovation must perform, not just promise Key insights This evolution is reinforced by thechallenges that dominated 2025: Theeconomic turbulence of the pastyearexposed a familiar truth.Wheninnovation is detached from the business,itbecomes the first cost center to bereorganized. As a response, businessesaremoving innovation accountabilitycloser to business units while centralizingvisibility, governance, and coordination.The direction is clear: achieve more withless. ƒAI pilots lack value.Most largeorganizations now run 20–40 AIexperiments yet struggle to articulate thecombined strategic impact or preventduplication across business units. ƒCFOs tighten portfolio discipline.Innovation budgets face unprecedentedscrutiny, and leaders must justify notonly individual projects but the function’stotal contribution to revenue andcompetitive positioning. Why this matters In tough conditions, innovation becomes acompetitive differentiator. Yet innovationonly creates value when it is embeddedin business and product decisions, notpositioned alongside them. ƒExecution gaps persist.Despite progress in ideation andexperimentation, fewer than 30% oforganizations successfully translateinnovation into core business or scalablerevenue streams. How do we know? ƒOperating models are shifting.Dedicated innovation functions are beingabsorbed into R&D, IT, and strategy,while unified innovation PMOs areemerging as the backbone of governanceand visibility. Over the past 12 months, we engagedindaily conversations with more than1,000leaders across R&D,strategy,andinnovation.Across sectors andgeographies, the same pattern emerged.Innovation has evolved from a departmentinto an enterprise discipline. Organizations now face the challenge ofscaling what works. The focus is shiftingfrom proving creativity to demonstratingmeasurable contributions to revenue andcompetitive strength. The insight remainsconsistent. Innovation must perform, notjust promise. The new question is not “Are we innovativeenough?” but rather, “How muchinnovation delivers commercial impact?” What’s shifting in 2026 This report distills insights from morethan1,000 conversations in 2025 intosix defining shifts. Together, these shiftsshow how leading companies are turninginnovation from an isolated function intoa connected operating system. Trend 1: AI coordination becomes a strategic asset.Governance, coordination, and measurablevalue creation replace scatteredexperimentation. Trend 2: From ROI to Return on AugmentedInnovation.AI augments capacity, andsuccess is measured by speed, evidence,and business impact. Trend 3: Unified Innovation PMOs.Visibility iscentralized, while control and executionremain distributed across the business. Trend 4: The rise of the modular partnershipmodel.Flexible, portfolio-basedpartnerships are replacing rigid, long-termalliances. Trend 5: Portfolio decisions reconnect with marketrealities.AI-augmented foresight integratesdirectly with portfolio steering and resourceallocation. Trend 6: Culture scales through defined systems.Clear processes, infrastructure, andtransparency replace vague culturalmandates. Trend 1:AI coordination becomesa strategic asset Theimplication is evident.Coordinationhas become a competitive differentiator.Organizations are shifting from scatteredexperimentation to disciplined governancedesigned to deliver measurable enterprisevalue. Companies that have introduced centralizedgovernancestructures such as steeringcommittees, shared repositories, and unifiedAI portfolio mapping report up to 60% fewerredundancies and a faster scale-up of viableuse cases [2]. Many organizations once encouraged eachbusiness unit to pursue AI independently.Theyare now realizing that fragmentedpilotsslow progress,limit learning,andwaste resources. The implication is clear: coordination itselfhas become a competitive differentiator. WhenAI initiatives align under a singlestrategicframework,organizations gainclearervisibility,sharperfocus,andmeasurable improve