Our partners

ABOUT IIC

IIC was founded in 2023 by researchers from The Norwegian School of Economics, and it now includes prominent institutions like The Norwegian School of Economics (Norway), The Hanken School of Economics (Finland), Karlstad Business School (Sweden), Aarhus University, the School of Business and Social Sciences (Denmark), Hasselt University – School of Business (Belgium), University de Carlos 3 Madrid (Spain), Fordham University – Gabelli School of Business (USA), University of Queensland – School of Business (Australia), and VinUni (Vietnam). 

The driving force behind this collaboration is the seminal work carried out in the development of the Norwegian Innovation Index (the world’s first customer-based ranking of most innovative firms) at The Norwegian School of Economics in 2016, as detailed in the 2022 article authored by Kurtmollaiev, Lervik-Olsen, and Andreassen.^[1]

IIC's mission is to improve the impact of (digital) innovations, value creation, and transformations by ensuring that crucial design and implementation decisions are science and evidence-based. In each partner country, we do this through research, dissemination, networking, and training.

The research agenda is shaped by the unique strengths and histories of its research partners and the diversity of expertise allows IIC to conduct cutting-edge research on the role of customers in innovation.

Research findings are disseminated through a variety of channels, including academic journals, industry publications, and the IIC's own newsletter. Our collaborative effort extends to annual conferences, workshops, and the publication of a newsletter authored by diverse IIC researchers, presenting insights on the subject matter. The publication format caters to a leadership style, meant to be accessible to business leaders and industry experts.

The Coalition hosts annual networking opportunities to cultivate working relationships between researchers, businesses, and policymakers. These relationships are essential for ensuring that the IIC's research has a real-world impact.

Together with our consulting partners, we offer training programs to develop the skills of future innovators. Courses are offered on a variety of topics, including customer-driven innovation, design thinking, and agile development.

IIC is committed to making a positive impact on the world through innovation. IIC's research, dissemination, networking, and training activities ensure that innovation is customer-driven, evidence-based, and sustainable.

In summary, the Innovation Index Coalition is amplifying the customer voice in innovation in numerous ways:

• Research focused on understanding how customers perceive and value innovation.
• Research partners collaborate with businesses to develop customer-driven innovation strategies.
• IIC's newsletter and other publications provide insights into how businesses can incorporate the customer voice into their innovation efforts.
• Conferences and workshops bring together researchers, businesses, and policymakers to discuss the role of customers in innovation.
• IIC's training programs teach future innovators how to incorporate the customer voice into their work.
• IIC is making a significant contribution to the field of innovation. By amplifying the customer voice, IIC is helping to ensure that innovation is more effective and sustainable.

For more information, please contact Professor Tor W. Andreasen, The Norwegian School of Economics or our local research partner.