The urgency to innovate for organisational survival has become increasingly recognised, with the result that innovation has conquered a position high on the management agenda. However, the unfamiliarity around innovation poses a challenge for innovation management. No unique solution exists to building a successful innovation approach, such that firms are forced to experiment with innovation approaches. In analysing the innovation approaches of four large international organisations we find that these organisations share an essential common element: the presence of one or more ‘visionary innovators’ who are determined to lead a movement towards organisational change.
The graduation assignment presents a theoretical framework to illustrate four core characteristics of a visionary innovator, based on empirical evidence. The visionary innovators possesses traits to discover and realise innovations, business and political know-how, the ability to create and share a vision and space to realise that vision. Furthermore, to aid visionary innovators in leading change towards innovation in large-scale organisations, a design is proposed.