Innovating an Innovation Journal—The ‘Reborn’ Managers@Work Article

In 1971, Utterback highlighted the importance of a firm’s environment, internal attributes, and interactions with its surroundings in driving technological innovation. Over fifty years later, innovation practices have evolved to become more open and collaborative, yet the relevance of accessing and integrating technical information remains critical. This editorial reintroduces the “Managers@Work” article series in Research-Technology Management (RTM), which allows practitioners to share their experiences with innovation strategies and tools. These articles, written by or in collaboration with practitioners, provide detailed insights and key learnings that are valuable to the innovation community. Managers@Work articles aim to bridge the academic-practitioner divide by focusing on practical applications and real-world implications, encouraging contributions that help advance innovation management practices.

Yat Ming Ooi is the editor-in-chief of Research-Technology Management. He is also an assistant professor of innovation management at the Department of Management and International Business, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand. His research focuses on strategies that firms use to source and leverage technologies, capabilities, and knowledge to improve innovation performance. Topics of interest include collaborative forms of innovation, technology commercialization, and digital transformation. He has published articles in journals such as Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Research-Technology Management, and International Journal of Production Economics. He is also passionate about creating impact beyond academia from research and co-leads the Frontiers of Impact Special Interest Group at the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM).