Supporting the development process for building products by the use of research portfolio analysis: A case study for wood plastics composite materials

Today’s plastics are increasingly compounded using renewable fibres. Such composites raised the interest of the massively bulk-plastics consuming building industry. However, “green” products are still rare and their development constitutes a challenge particularly for small companies. Our study evaluated European scientific projects in composites from which we derived a Research Portfolio serving as future matrix for ideation. It was found that research databanks can serve as basis for strategic innovation planning. We were able to identify several appropriate future technologies and material applications in the field of bio-based plastics composites. Our methodology particularly supports manufacturers with less formalized innovation processes.