The JPIM thought leadership symposium

As part of the PDMA-UIC Doctoral Consortium, one full day (Friday, July 15, 2011) was devoted to the JPIM Thought Leadership Symposium, sponsored by JPIM and supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago. As JPIM Editor, I had the honor of serving as the chair of the symposium. The goal of the symposium was to identify critical areas for product innovation and development research, with the intention of assembling a list of about 10 key research topics of both theoretical importance and practical significance that will guide academics' efforts to the greatest knowledge needs in the innovation field. Briefly, the day was divided into two parts. In the morning, nine thought leaders from both the academic and practitioner worlds presented their critical views on the most pressing research needs from their particular vantage points. After lunch, we facilitated a creativity session in which faculty, doctoral students, and industry representatives entered into constructive discourse and worked jointly to generate, develop, and prioritize research ideas. The results were tabulated and a set of high-potential research priorities, guided by the twin streams of theory advancement and managerial usefulness, was compiled. This short paper describes the symposium in detail, then presents a research agenda based on the day’s results.