Investigation of the "lean startup" approach in large manufacturing companies towards customer driven product innovation in SMEs

The agile product innovation method Lean Startup Approach is used by startups to quickly adapt to the fast changing market conditions and customer needs. The authors carried out a preliminary study which showed that global challenges such as digital transformation are urging companies to become more dynamic and flexible, and that this method is already used by large companies to meet the needs. Based on the preliminary study, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with experts to examine the procedure for introducing the Lean Startup Approach in large manufacturing companies, and examined the feasibility of applying the method to SMEs.