Innovation management is considered a critical part of the survival of organizations, not least for small and medium-sized enterprises which accounts for the largest share in Swedish business. Despite the positive effects that innovation can bring, there is little research on how systematic innovation management looks in small and medium-sized enterprises.  Purpose: This study aims to contribute to the area of innovation management within small and medium-sized enterprises, by starting a discussion of their pre-conditions to adopt a systematic approach.  Theory: The study does not consider previous theories. However, a phenomenographic approach has influenced the course of the study. To better understand the phenomenon (systematic innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises) we collected perceptions of the sub-areas that constitute an innovation management system. Their basic understandings and variations in their perceptions contributed to an increased understanding of the phenomenon. Method: A total of three external innovation experts and four representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises contributed with data through dialogue-based interviews. The using of a standard for innovation management systems (ISO 56002: 2019) established a mutual understanding of the phenomenon in the conversations with the respondents. While conducting the interviews we analyzed the material where descriptive categories were formed that illustrate differences in how the respondents perceive the phenomenon, their varying ways of delimiting and attributing meaning to the phenomenon.  Results: The outcome of the study consists of the relations between the descriptive categories. The identified descriptive categories attribute meaning to the phenomenon in the following ways; (Descriptive category 1) presupposes knowledge of the individual's value and influence on the process, (Descriptive category 2) presupposes reduced demands on structure and the scope of systematization, (Descriptive category 3) presupposes pressure from external or internal actors. The results show that small and medium-sized enterprises are highly dependent on commitment from management and that the organization has the ability to use these pre-conditions as driving forces for innovation management. / Innovationsledning har på senare tid betraktats som en kritisk del för organisationers överlevnad, inte minst för små och medelstora företag vilka står för den största andelen i svenskt näringsliv. Trots de positiva effekter innovation kan medföra finns det väldigt lite forskning på hur innovationsledning ter sig inom små och medelstora företag. Syfte: Att bidra till området genom att starta en diskussion om vilka förutsättningar små och medelstora företag har att göra innovationsarbetet till en systematisk process. Teori: Studien tar inte hänsyn till tidigare teorier på området. Däremot har fenomenografiska utgångspunkter präglat studiens förlopp. För att komma åt små och medelstora företags förutsättningar att bedriva innovationsledning systematiskt söktes förstå de uppfattningar företagen själva har av det som utgör ett innovations-ledningssystem. Därmed låg intresset i att komma åt grundläggande förståelser och variationer bland dessa, som i sin tur bidrog till en ökad förståelse av fenomenet i sin helhet. Metod: Totalt har tre externa innovationsexperter och fyra representanter från små och medelstora företag bidragit till studiens insamlade information genom dialogbaserade intervjuer. Med hjälp av en befintlig standard för ett innovationsledningssystem (ISO 56002:2019) tillskrevs meningsinnehåll till fenomeneti samtalet med respondenterna. Parallellt med intervjuernas genomförande analyserades innehållet. Under analysen formades beskrivningskategorier som illustrerar skillnader i hur respondenterna uppfattar fenomenet samt deras varierande sätt att avgränsa det. Resultat: Utfallsrummet utgörs av relationen mellan beskrivningskategorierna och kan ses som studiens resultat. De identifierade beskrivningskategorierna tillskriver mening till fenomenet på följande vis; (Beskrivningskategori 1) förutsätter kännedom om individens värde och påverkan på processen, (Beskrivningskategori 2) förutsätter sänkta krav på struktur och systematiseringens omfattning, (Beskrivningskategori 3) förutsätter påtryckningar från externa eller interna aktörer. Utfallsrummet i sin tur visar på att små och medelstora företag är högst beroende av att ledning och organisation i sin helhet kan se och utnyttja dessa förutsättningar som drivkrafter för systematisk innovationsledning.

The popularity of the term innovation is growing rapidly. Its significant role in the increasingly competitive world is not deniable. Consequently, to secure their profitable growth, enterprises across the world try to improve their innovation capabilities.After publishing the first international standard by ISO, in the realm of innovation management system, this current thesis project is performed to investigate the challenges and motivations that production units may have in implementing the new standard, ISO 56002, in their production processes. The empirical part of the project is carried out in cooperation with five Swedish industrial companies. A variety of companies regarding to the type of activities, size, age, etc. were selected. Based on the content of standard ISO 56002, the collected data from prior research and empirical findings, an analysis is performed. The results shows that organizations have different approaches toward managing innovation activities and their current innovation management’s capabilities is a determining factor for challenges with ISO 56002. However, all respondents have positive attitude toward the implementation of ISO 56002 in the production processes and consider it as a useful standard with many potential benefits for their organizations. Challenges that companies may confront, in applying ISO 65002 in the production processes, are culture, involvement of leadership, immaturity in working with processes, etc. Considering the consensus about the culture as a challenge, a model to enhance the employee’s engagement is suggested.This thesis is one of the pioneers in investigating the applicability of ISO 56002:2019 in a production process. It can provide production units with useful information and contribute to the innovation management community.The empirical information is collected from companies that have not implemented ISO 56002.Future studies by focusing on the companies with ISO 56002, can shed light on new aspects of the standard’s applicability in the production processes and develop findings of the present thesis. Additionally, the implementation of standard’s various features in production processes can be inspected individually. Keywords:ISO 56002:2019, ISO 56000:2020, Standard, Innovation, Innovation Management System, Production Process / <p>The presentation was online through the application ZOOM.</p>