For this paper, a benchmarking analysis was conducted to determine best practices for the evaluation and selection of supplier innovations as part of the purchasing process. All of the case companies analyze the quality of an innovation, but they do not evaluate the supplier proposing the innovation. To further develop these results, a World Caf e workshop was conducted. Two operationally usable checklists were developed to evaluate the characteristics and qualities of both the innovation and the supplier proposing the innovation. Both checklists can be combined into one evaluation-scoring model for supplier innovations. This process helps avoid wasting time attempting to implement "good" ideas from "bad" suppliers or discarding "bad" ideas from "good" suppliers that may still have potential for further development.

Traditionally, manufacturers could usually choose from several suppliers who would be more than willing to engage in innovation processes with them. However, more often the situation arises that a supplier has a dominant position because of a clear leadership or even exclusivity in a certain technology. How should the buying companies handle such situations when a supplier can choose the customer to collaborate with, rather than cueing in front of the customer’s door? This paper focuses on how a buying company may best handle this situation of innovating with dominant suppliers. The methodology used is a case study that compares, from an original equipment manufacturer’s perspective, two implemented supplier innovations with different expirations — a success case and a failure. Findings lead to three main propositions: First, firms may benefit from carefully analysing and designing the buyer–supplier constellation in innovation processes and not only the quality of the innovation. Drawing back on attractiveness theory grounded in social exchange theory may provide clues on how to do so. Second, in case of a dominant supplier situation, traditional innovation management processes may fail and need to be amended by a dedicated innovation process with a different order of steps. In the case of supplier dominance, it is essential to first analyse the supplier constellation, and then make the decision for the innovation path to follow — and not the other way around. Third, in the fight for getting access to a supplier’s innovation, a speed-up process with the buying company may be a tool for outperforming other buyers competing for the same supplier.

Successfully implemented innovations in firms often benefit from a set of corporate actors who promote such innovations. This is the essence of promotor theory. However, this theory was designed almost five decades ago, when most innovations were still generated internally in a firm's laboratory. In most cases today, suppliers external to the firm play a crucial role in implementing innovations. The question thus arises: do such externally generated innovations actually require the buying firm to have a set of promotors of its own? Relying on a benchmark and the World Café method, our research concludes that a new set of promotors tailored to supplier innovation is needed: (1) the supplier vision promotor, (2) the customer promotor and (3) a diplomatic promotor. Establishing a dedicated team of promotors may be key to boosting innovations coming from suppliers.

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Particular thanks go to my employer for providing me with various support during my journey as a doctorate candidate. In this context, first of all, I would like to 1 Chapter 1: Thesis Background and Research Structure CHAPTER 1: THESIS BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH STRUCTURE 1.1 State of research, motivation, and main research questions: Higher outcome of successful innovation projects, through adequate evaluation, selection and project execution procedures for supplier innovations Nowadays, innovations are central sources of competitive advantage, and effective innovation management -from product idea to launch -is crucial to ensure that organizations survive and prosper (Ozer