Presentation of the Mass Innovation System at the DOBA Business Group as a Foundation for Fostering Innovation within the Organization
Innovation is a process intrinsically tied to people, their creativity, knowledge, talents, and capacity for collaboration. Organizations that aim to generate added value through innovation must embed innovation processes at all levels and actively encourage employees to think creatively and contribute ideas, suggestions, and improvements. This can be achieved by establishing solid foundations through the organization’s development strategy, promoting a culture of innovation, encouraging cross-functional collaboration, and effectively managing innovation[1]. Employees are the primary stakeholder group in this process, as their creative input and concrete suggestions can lead to breakthrough innovations. Additionally, it is essential to involve other stakeholders—such as long-term external collaborators, partners, suppliers, customers, research institutions, and the broader community.
Mass Innovation
The most common approach to managing innovation among employees within a company is so-called mass innovation[2], which has been introduced for several years in Slovenian companies and organizations. It differs from so-called professional innovation, which is typically carried out in research and development departments. In many successful Slovenian companies, mass innovation has become an established practice that brings tangible benefits. By encouraging the active involvement of employees in shaping improvements, companies receive hundreds of useful and innovative suggestions annually. These contribute to significant financial savings and strengthen business performance. In such a collaborative environment, both organizations and their employees benefit (Čeh, 2016).
Bulc (2012) states that “the ability to create a business culture that encourages and develops mass innovation has become a visible element that differentiates successful from less successful companies.” She sets the criterion that “mass” in a company means that more than 60% of employees generate ideas, and that the number of ideas exceeds 3 suggestions per employee per year—this includes improvements, inventions, and innovations.
Case Study: DOBA – Ideas That See Further
One of the variations of mass innovation is implemented by the DOBA Business Group, which, due to the nature of its educational system and organizational structure, extends the systematic encouragement of innovation from employees to also include external collaborators (teachers, mentors) and students themselves.
At DOBA, the need for greater involvement of employees and external collaborators in creating new development steps for the organization, faster transfer of innovative initiatives into practice, and the systematization of such efforts emerged as early as 2005. In 2019, the system was upgraded into the mass innovation project 'DOBA – Ideas That See Further', which today serves as a key mechanism for implementing the innovation policy throughout the business group. The project enables all key stakeholders – employees, external collaborators, and students – to contribute to the innovative development of the faculty (DOBA, 2019).
The innovation policy is aimed at encouraging, developing, and leveraging the creativity and innovative potential of employees, suppliers, and clients to continuously improve services, increase competitiveness, and ensure the sustainable growth of the DOBA Business Group.
It is important to understand that an innovation system cannot function without being embedded in the company’s development story, without the support of leadership, knowledge, and the right mindset – and DOBA’s development story is built on precisely that. One of its core values is innovation and development orientation, which is realized daily through open collaboration among stakeholders and the development of knowledge and competencies aligned with the principles of sustainable development. The innovation project directly supports DOBA’s strategic direction toward sustainable growth, digitalization, quality education, and excellence in services. In this, leadership plays a crucial role – it promotes an innovation culture, provides support, and leads by example in demonstrating the importance of creativity and openness.
At DOBA, creativity is systematically encouraged among all stakeholders – internal ones such as employees, and external ones, divided into two categories: the first includes external collaborators, teachers, lecturers, and mentors; the second includes students, who are in fact DOBA’s 'clients.' The project does not include other external partners such as companies, NGOs, or researchers outside of the DOBA system, so it currently does not qualify as so-called open innovation in the broader sense of the word.
The innovation system is run as a project under the name “DOBA – Ideas That See Further”, and it is a structured system for collecting, evaluating, classifying, and implementing innovative ideas, adapted to a dynamic educational environment.
It is also important to highlight the role of the project coordinator, appointed by management, who is designated as the person responsible for coordinating and monitoring the mass innovation system within the DOBA Business Group. The coordinator plays a key role in managing the activities of idea submission and proposals among all stakeholders. They are responsible for implementing and reporting on innovation activities to management, advising, motivating, and assisting participants in the innovation process, resolving potential ambiguities in the idea review process, and proposing new approaches for the project’s development. Another important task of the coordinator is to communicate the project, actively motivating all involved to submit ideas and promoting DOBA’s innovation activities.
DOBA’s Innovation Process by Phases
DOBA’s innovation process consists of several phases that are logically interconnected and enable effective management of innovation potential.
1. Idea Collection
Ideas are collected in a structured and accessible way. Employees submit their proposals via the intranet, while external stakeholders (students, mentors, lecturers) use the virtual learning environment. Everyone has access to an online form that allows idea submission at any time. This approach ensures openness and continuity of the process.
2. Evaluation and Categorization of Ideas
The evaluation of ideas takes place on several levels. Department heads review the submitted employee proposals on a monthly basis. Quickly actionable ideas with clear added value can be approved directly, while more complex ones are forwarded for further consideration. Currently unfeasible ideas are suggested for future review, and unsuitable ones are rejected. All decisions are documented in reports for the project coordinator.
A similar process applies to ideas from external stakeholders: a staff member conducts a monthly review, and the ideas are compiled into reports that are reviewed bi-monthly by the Innovation Team. This team reviews proposals for further development and additionally evaluates a random sample of 5–10 rejected ideas to detect any overlooked innovations. More complex and financially demanding ideas are subject to final approval by the management board.
3. Implementation and Execution of Ideas
Approved ideas move into operational implementation, which is the responsibility of the department head. A responsible person and deadline are assigned. In the case of more complex ideas or demanding projects, a project team is formed.
4. Monitoring and Evaluation
Activities are integrated into monthly or annual work plans, enabling continuous progress tracking through regular reporting. This ensures that ideas do not remain only theoretical but become tangible measures with measurable outcomes. At the same time, the effects of implemented ideas are monitored and their ongoing relevance is assessed based on changing market and organizational conditions.
5. Rewarding Innovation
An important part of the system is participant motivation. Once a year, typically in January, awards are given in several categories: Best Innovator (employee), Best Idea (employee), Best Innovators among teachers, external collaborators, and students. The awards are practical in nature, aligned with tax regulations, and do not include department heads who evaluate the ideas. Additional motivation is provided through a draw among all who submitted ideas.³
It is the responsibility of all employees, especially leaders, to be continuously innovative. Innovation is one of the key competencies expected from leaders, which is why they are excluded from certain elements of the system (e.g., idea awards).[3]
What Are the Results of DOBA’s Systematic Innovation?
At DOBA, innovation is not just an occasional activity of a few individuals, but a systematic process that includes both minor improvements and major innovation initiatives aimed at long-term strategic change. In recent years, numerous concrete results have been achieved, significantly contributing to the transformation of the educational process and management practices.
Key projects include the implementation of a shared email system for more efficient communication, the digitalization of practical training enabling a more modern and accessible learning process, and the development of two major digital solutions – a proprietary CRM system and a proprietary student information system. These projects have significantly improved operational efficiency, enhanced user experience, and raised the quality of services the faculty offers to students and other stakeholders.
DOBA’s innovation support system goes beyond technical mechanisms for collecting proposals. It represents a holistic approach that builds and strengthens an innovation culture within the organization. This culture promotes the active involvement of employees, teachers, mentors, and students, and places innovation at the core of the faculty’s strategic development.
The case of DOBA demonstrates how mass innovation – as a systematic process of idea and proposal submission by employees and other stakeholders – can serve as a foundational process for the effective leadership, management, and development of an innovative organization.
Sources and References:
Bulc, V. (2012). Mass Innovation – A Key to a Sustainable, Successful and Satisfied Organization. Journal of Innovative Business and Management, 4(2). https://journal.doba.si/ojs/index.php/jimb/article/view/153
Bulc, V., & Lah Poljak, E. (2011). Manual for the Course “Innovation and Innovation Management” [Study Material]. BlackBoard@DOBAFakulteta. https://bb.doba.si/webapps/login/
Čeh, S. (2016, March 25). Mass Innovation as a Value. Delo.si. https://old.delo.si/gospodarstvo/podjetja/mnozicno-inoviranje-kot-vrednota.html
DOBA (2019). Innovation System at DOBA “DOBA – Ideas that See Further” [Internal material]. Maribor: DOBA.
DOBA (2025, February 7). Awards for the Best Innovators of 2024. Doba.si. https://www.doba.si/novice/nagrade-najboljsim-inovatorjem-leta-2024
Fatur, P., & Likar, B. (2009). Involving Employees in Innovation as a Source of Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Management, (4), 243–257.
Milner, E., Kinnell, M., & Usherwood, B. (1995). Employee Suggestion Schemes: A Management Tool for the 1990s? Library Management, 16(3), 3–8.
[1] Upravljanje inovativnosti lahko razumemo pod različnimi pojmi. Za potrebe našega prispevka uporabljamo pojem inovacijski in inovativni management (Bulc, Lah Poljak, 2011), pri čemer inovacijski management razumemo kot način vodenja (poslovnega) sistema, v katerem management oz. vodstvo upravlja inovacijske procese in odnose za zagotavljanje ustreznega okolja in pravil igre za nastajanje inovacij, inovativni management pa pojmujemo kot način vodenja (poslovnega) sistema, v katerem je menedžment oz. vodstvo nosilec vsebine (poslovne) inovacije.
[2] V literaturi se uveljavlja tudi management idej (Milner, Kinnell in Usherwood, 1995), kar pojmujemo kot formaliziran mehanizem za spodbujanje zaposlenih, da prispevajo konstruktivne ideje za izboljšanje organizacije. Kot poudarjata Fatur in Likar (2009) je poimenovanj za obravnavano področje več, pri nas se uporablja tudi pojem množična inovacijska ali invencijsko-inovacijska dejavnost, kot ga podaja Mulej (1987), do terminov inovativna dejavnost ali sistem koristnih predlogov, ki ju uporabljajo posamezna podjetja, v obvladovanju kakovosti uveljavljenega procesa oziroma sistema stalnih izboljšav.
[3] Nagrajene sodelujoče Doba vsako leto tudi javno predstavi in jih objavi na svoji spletni strani (DOBA, 2025). Za leto 2024 je bilo podanih 625 predlogov izboljšav, od tega so jih zaposleni prispevali kar 514, kar je 14,3 predlogov na zaposlenega.
