Assessment of TRIZ Potential on Companies Innovation Capacity, Illustration with the Hybrid Boiler Designed at Bosch Thermotechnology

Innovation is one of the aims of many organisations. It is a mandatory condition for durable industrial activities, even though it bears specific issues, such as the involvement of substantial resources, temporary low profitability, high risks and failure rates, which need to be overcome to succeed. Therefore we investigated the notion of innovation performance, as it is critical to analyse the reach of organisational innovation-related objectives and the allocation and use of resources.The measurement of such a performance is generally done through the observation of organisation Research and Development (R&D) investments as well as the quantity of patent applications. However, it was shown that even if the R&D investments are an assessment element of the innovation process inputs, the patents do not show a fair image of the innovation capacity, namely because of their relative value and use [1], . Some authors focused on the assessment of the innovation capacity (or innovation potential), studying the factors that enable innovation. We propose to synthesise the fields covered by these factors and will investigate two of the most advanced models that offer different approaches and perspectives [2], , [3].Based on these elements, we analyse the interactions between classical TRIZ and the organisational innovation capacity factors in order to determine TRIZ potential. This methodological and theoretical approach is then confronted to a field example: the design of a hybrid-heating appliance (compact electrical heat-pump combined with a gas condensing boiler) within Robert Bosch company. This study is marked by the context of regulation evolutions such as the European Directive on Energy-related Products (ErP) and strong technical challenges to overcome. Results shows the outcomes that companies can expect out of TRIZ, which are seen as vectors of expansion for the understanding and the use of the theory in the industrial world. It also emphasizes what are the points that cannot be covered by classical TRIZ within all the different fields of the innovation capacity (Strategy, Organisation, Process, Resources, Tools and Culture). The reasons for the deviations between theoretical approach and the studied case are analysed and perspectives are given on a new approach combining TRIZ and the Blue Ocean Strategy.