Historical Background
What is innovation? Can it be defined easily or is it shaped by a complex system of people, contexts, eras, practices, and products?
Does innovation have to be a 'thing'? Can it be an idea, or a process? Some scholars, including H.G. Barnett, thought so. To Barnett, innovation wasn't one single thing or activity that could be replicated at will. Instead, it was a complex interaction of factors that could create the magic combination leading to innovation.
Does innovation have to be a 'thing'? Can it be an idea, or a process? Some scholars, including H.G. Barnett, thought so. To Barnett, innovation wasn't one single thing or activity that could be replicated at will. Instead, it was a complex interaction of factors that could create the magic combination leading to innovation.
Who can innovate? Do you think of Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs when you hear the word "innovation"? Innovation has long been tied to the image of the light bulb, popularized by Edison, and perhaps when you think of innovation you think of the latest version of the iPhone. But can both be innovations? One was revolutionary, touching almost every aspect of life from creating new infrastructure to carry electricity to changing the modern sleep cycle, while the other is usually incremental, with small changes and the gradual implementation of new features with every release.
Is innovation individual, or collaborative? Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse disagreed on what makes one an innovator. They both represented a time when innovation and invention shifted from individual inventors to corporate-sponsored research. For Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, innovation was largely individual, while for Westinghouse it was a corporate effort.
Is innovation individual, or collaborative? Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse disagreed on what makes one an innovator. They both represented a time when innovation and invention shifted from individual inventors to corporate-sponsored research. For Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, innovation was largely individual, while for Westinghouse it was a corporate effort.
Innovation is often seen differently by economists and anthropologists, but one aspect of it is the same: first the innovation is invented, and then it is disseminated. This conclusion came after many years of arguing whether invention or dissemination was more important; finally, they were acknowledged to be two steps of the same process. For more information, see Benoit Godin's paper cited below.
What does innovation mean to different people? We found very little consensus on what innovation is or isn't, and so we began to wonder about the variety.
What does innovation mean to different people? We found very little consensus on what innovation is or isn't, and so we began to wonder about the variety.
Resources
Barnett, H.G. (1953). Introduction. In Innovation: The Basis of Cultural Change (pp. 1-16). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Barnett, H.G. (1953). The cultural background. In Innovation: The Basis of Cultural Change (pp. 39-65). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Elkin, S. (1983). Towards a contextual theory of innovation. Policy Sciences, 15 (4).
Fougére, M. & Harding, N. (2012). On the limits of what can be said about ‘innovation:’ Interplay and contrasts between academic and policy discourses. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Frane, A. & Westlund, H. (2013). Introduction: The meaning and importance of socio-cultural context for innovation performance. In A. Frane & H. Westlund (Eds.), Innovation in socio-cultural context. Florence, KY: Routledge.
Godin, B. (2008). Innovation: The history of a category. Project on the intellectual history of innovation. Working paper no. 1.
Godin, B. (2012). καινοτομία: An old word for a new world, or the de-contestation of a political and contested concept. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gripenberg, P., Sveiby, K.E. & Segercrantz, B. (2012). Challenging the innovation paradigm: The prevailing pro-innovation bias. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gripenberg, P., Sveiby, K.E. & Segercrantz, B. (2012). Practical implications and future research. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Herbig, P & Kramer, H. (2007). Low tech innovation: Resurveying the basic meaning of innovation. Management Decision, 31(3).
Hirsh, R.F. (2011). Historians of technology in the real world: Reflections on the pursuit of policy-oriented history. Technology and Culture, 52(1), 6-20.
Jin, X. (2011). Research on IT innovation concepts diffusion with analysis of discourse. In D. Zeng (Ed.), Advances in Electrical Engineering & Electrical Machines. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Jones, R.H. (2010). Creativity and discourse. World Englishes, 29(4).
Jorgensen, M. & Phillips, L. (2002). Discourse analysis as theory and method. London: Sage Publications.
Miller, R. & Côté, M. (2012). Innovation reinvented: Six games that drive growth. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Moldaschl, M. (2010). Why innovation theories make no sense. Papers and reprints of the department of innovation research and sustainable resource management, Chemnitz University of Technology.
Turner, F. (2006). Taking the whole earth digital. In From counterculture to cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the rise of digital utopianism (pp. 103-140). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Schiebinger, L. et. al. (2013). Gendered innovations in science, health & medicine, engineering, and environment. http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/.
Usselman, S.W. (1992). From novelty to utility: George Westinghouse and the business of innovation during the age of Edison. The Business History Review, 66(2), 251-304.
Weiss, G. & Wodak, R. (2011). Introduction: Theory, interdisciplinarity and critical discourse analysis. In Critical discourse analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wisnioski, M. (2012). Three bridges to creative renewal. In Engineers for change: Competing visions of technology in 1960s America (pp. 123-160). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Barnett, H.G. (1953). The cultural background. In Innovation: The Basis of Cultural Change (pp. 39-65). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Elkin, S. (1983). Towards a contextual theory of innovation. Policy Sciences, 15 (4).
Fougére, M. & Harding, N. (2012). On the limits of what can be said about ‘innovation:’ Interplay and contrasts between academic and policy discourses. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Frane, A. & Westlund, H. (2013). Introduction: The meaning and importance of socio-cultural context for innovation performance. In A. Frane & H. Westlund (Eds.), Innovation in socio-cultural context. Florence, KY: Routledge.
Godin, B. (2008). Innovation: The history of a category. Project on the intellectual history of innovation. Working paper no. 1.
Godin, B. (2012). καινοτομία: An old word for a new world, or the de-contestation of a political and contested concept. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gripenberg, P., Sveiby, K.E. & Segercrantz, B. (2012). Challenging the innovation paradigm: The prevailing pro-innovation bias. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gripenberg, P., Sveiby, K.E. & Segercrantz, B. (2012). Practical implications and future research. In P. Gripenberg et al. (Eds.), Challenging the innovation paradigm. New York, NY: Routledge.
Herbig, P & Kramer, H. (2007). Low tech innovation: Resurveying the basic meaning of innovation. Management Decision, 31(3).
Hirsh, R.F. (2011). Historians of technology in the real world: Reflections on the pursuit of policy-oriented history. Technology and Culture, 52(1), 6-20.
Jin, X. (2011). Research on IT innovation concepts diffusion with analysis of discourse. In D. Zeng (Ed.), Advances in Electrical Engineering & Electrical Machines. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Jones, R.H. (2010). Creativity and discourse. World Englishes, 29(4).
Jorgensen, M. & Phillips, L. (2002). Discourse analysis as theory and method. London: Sage Publications.
Miller, R. & Côté, M. (2012). Innovation reinvented: Six games that drive growth. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Moldaschl, M. (2010). Why innovation theories make no sense. Papers and reprints of the department of innovation research and sustainable resource management, Chemnitz University of Technology.
Turner, F. (2006). Taking the whole earth digital. In From counterculture to cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the rise of digital utopianism (pp. 103-140). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Schiebinger, L. et. al. (2013). Gendered innovations in science, health & medicine, engineering, and environment. http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/.
Usselman, S.W. (1992). From novelty to utility: George Westinghouse and the business of innovation during the age of Edison. The Business History Review, 66(2), 251-304.
Weiss, G. & Wodak, R. (2011). Introduction: Theory, interdisciplinarity and critical discourse analysis. In Critical discourse analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wisnioski, M. (2012). Three bridges to creative renewal. In Engineers for change: Competing visions of technology in 1960s America (pp. 123-160). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.