Abstract:

Contemporary corporate environment is characterized by a high level of complexity and customers’ growing requirements force the implementation of innovations, which are necessary to gain and maintain competitive advantage. The results of conducted research indicate that interaction with customers has a positive effect on the success of implemented innovations, and is gaining increased interest in subject literature. Creating successful innovations requires a combination of knowledge from different perspectives, including especially the customers’ knowledge, since they are the most appropriate for the purpose of revealing their needs and expectations. The body of research presented in this article was motivated by the question whether and how can the success of interaction with customers be increased in the context of developing innovations. The research objective was to diagnose the use of concept of collaborative innovation with customers in food sector companies and its significance for innovation outcomes. The questionnaire technique was used in CAWI and CATI methods to collect data. As a result, 80 observations were taken into account. The research has demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between orientation toward cooperation by food sector companies, their involvement in creating innovation in cooperation with customers and the degree of realizing the objectives concerning product innovations.