What Makes Something 'New Enough' According to the Oslo Manual Standards?

According to the Oslo Manual standards, something is considered ‘new enough’ to be classified as an innovation if it is “new or significantly improved”.

This applies to products (goods or services), processes, marketing methods, and organizational methods.

Key Criteria for ‘New Enough’

Significant Improvements: For products, this includes substantial enhancements in technical specifications, components, materials, software, user-friendliness, or other functional characteristics[5].
Minimum Entry Level: The innovation must be at least “new to the firm”[6]. This means that even if the innovation already exists in other companies or markets, it can still be considered an innovation for a specific firm if it’s implementing it for the first time.
Measurable Impact: A key tenet of the Oslo Manual is that innovation should be measurable[4]. The impact or improvement must be significant enough to be quantified or observed.
Functional Changes: For processes, significant changes in techniques, equipment, and/or software qualify as innovations[5].
User Experience: In the case of services, innovations that significantly improve user experiences, even without a technological component, are considered new enough[1].
Market Introduction: For product innovations, they must be introduced to the market to be considered innovations[1]. For other types of innovations, they must be brought into actual use in the firm’s operations.

It’s important to note that the Oslo Manual’s definition of innovation has evolved over time to become more inclusive, especially for service sector innovations and non-technological innovations[1][4]. This reflects the changing nature of innovation in the modern economy and the need for more comprehensive measurement tools.

Innovation Framework

An innovation is a new or improved product or process (or combination thereof) that differs significantly from previous products or processes and has been introduced on the market or brought into use by the firm.

• Product innovation: A new or improved good or service introduced to the market.
• Business process innovation: A new or improved business process implemented within the firm.

Innovation can and should be measured.

Knowledge is a basis for innovation.

An innovation must be new or significantly improved compared to what was previously available.

An innovation must have potential utility or actual use.

Value creation or preservation are the goal of innovation.

An innovation MUST be implemented, which differentiates it from concepts like invention.

The manual provides a taxonomy of business functions that can be subject to innovation.

All developmental, financial, and commercial activities undertaken by a firm intended to innovate.

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