INTRODUCTION
This is
the integrative essay on developing personal broad definition of innovation. It
is a short essay document covering an overview of what is innovation, different
types of innovation, different definitions on innovation, personal definition
on innovation and references.
Overview of what is innovation
Von
Hippel (2002) stated that innovation is an economically motivated activity; Szczygielski
(2011) said innovation is the sources of competitive edge in any economy and firms.
Many people confuse innovation with Invention. However Innovation is not
invention. Invention is creation of a product or an introduction of a process
or product for the first time that didn’t exist before, while Innovation is
making significant contribution by adding value to an existing product, process
or service which results into new product (Grasty, 2013). Olomi (2006) stated
that innovation results into change in the products, market, and technology and
organization performance. He further added Creativity and invention are the
subsets of innovation. Furthermore, Drucker (1985) said that Innovation does
not necessarily need to be original, technical or a thing but it can be a
change in processes; innovation encompasses economic, social and technical phenomenon.
Schumpeter ( as cited in Drejer, 2004) argued that innovation does not need to
be radical, technological and unpredictable so that it can be considered as
true innovation but it can be anything that update economic structure.
Innovation involves doing things differently rather than doing things better
through improvement (Branson). Accenture (2013) states that innovation brings
about tangible outcomes that changes the way the world lives and works.
Examples of recent innovations are solar airplane and Mobile phone banking
called MPESA in East Africa which has turned the mobile phones into bank
accounts.
Different Types of Innovation
Innovation
in manufacturing is the most popular type of innovation because historically
manufacturing was the major economic activity. However Innovation includes
service innovation as well. Service innovation happen in Distribution, hotels, transport, storage, communication,
government, health care and motor vehicle repairs just to mention a few. There
is a difference between service Innovation and Manufacturing Innovation.
Whereas service innovation is supplier driven, manufacturing innovation is
demand driven, further to that manufacturing innovation depends on R&D and
Doing, new products and production technology whereas service innovation
depends on new ways of organizing economic activities and depend less on
R&D compared to manufacturing innovation (Szczygielski, 2011).
Jensen,
Johnson, Lorenz and Lundvall (2007)
state that there are two types of innovations which are Science technology innovation
(STI) and Doing type of Innovation (DUI). Science technology innovation is based
on the production and use of codified scientific and technical knowledge while
Doing (DUI) type of technology uses interacting mode, informal processes of
learning and experienced based knowhow which has tacit elements. Firms that use
both modes are likely to innovate new products or services than the one using
one mode alone.
Innovation
emanates from activities which include basic research, adoption and diffusion
of innovations and decisions to participate in cooperative R&D Ventures
(Hippel, 2002) formal knowledge which creates new knowledge (Drejer, 2004) and
learning by doing (Jensen etal, 2007)
Definitions of
Innovation
Edquist
(1997) defined Innovation broadly as new creations of economic significance.
Drucker
(1985) defined Innovation as coming up with new ideas and developing the
organization required to effectively commercialising them.
Coulter
(2005) stated that innovation is
a process of taking a creative idea and turning it into a product or a process
that can be sold.
Innovation
is successful exploitation of new ideas that leads to any form of increased
organizational or social benefit (Bridge S,
O’Neill K. and Cromie S., 1998).
Schumpeter (as cited in Drejer,
2004) states that Innovation is related to economic development and is driven
by the discontinuous emergence of new combination, that is more viable than the
old way of doing things. Drejer, (2004) further argued
that innovation is a process of industrial transformation that revolutionises economic
structures from within. It is dynamism towards superior methods in production
in the economy. Innovation involves small changes which are frequently a
condition for development. Schumpeter (as cited in
Drejer, 2004) argued that Innovation definition covers five areas which are:
Introduction
of new good or a new quality of good (Product Innovation); introduction of new
methods of production which includes a new way of handling a commodity
commercially (Process Innovation); opening a new market (Market Innovation);conquering
a new source of supply of raw materials or intermediate input and carrying out new organization of industry (Organization
Innovation).
My
own definition of Innovation
My own
definition of Innovation is adopted from
Schumpeter (as cited in Drejer, 2004) as it provides a framework that
covers manufacturing as well as service industry simultaneously. Moreover the definition
has taken some elements from Coulter (2005) and Drucker (1985).
It
states that Innovation is economic, social and technical significance term which
involves introduction of new combination different from the old products, and
this new combination developed must be valuable enough to be able to be commercialized.
It can be new market, new methods of production, new product, new conquering
source of supply of raw materials or new organization of industry.
Innovation
can occur in any industry as long as it acts differently beyond the boundaries
of routine systems and routine products. Further to that new idea and new
product developed in innovation must have economic or social significance
enough to be able to be sold at the market.
Reference
Accenture
Innovation Index Awards (2013).”Connecting Innovators’’
Branson
R., (2009).Business stripped bare, London, Virgin books.
Bridge S, O’Neill K. and Cromie S., (1998). Understanding
Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, London: Macmillan Press Ltd.
Coulter,
M. (2005), Entrepreneurship in action, India, Prentice Hall.
Drejer
I., (2004).Identifying Innovation in surveys of services. A Schumpeter perspective.
Research Policy, (33), 551-562.
Drucker P.F.,(1985).Innovation and Entrepreneurship,Oxford,UK,Elservier Ltd.
Drucker P.F.,(1985).Innovation and Entrepreneurship,Oxford,UK,Elservier Ltd.
Edquist
(1997).Introduction. In Edquist C. (Ed), Systems of Innovation: Technologies,
Institutions and Organizations. London, Printer.
Grasty T.,(2012 April 03).The difference between Invention and innovation.Huff post tech web log.Retrieved http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-grasty/technological-inventions-and-innovation_b_1397085.html
Grasty T.,(2012 April 03).The difference between Invention and innovation.Huff post tech web log.Retrieved http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-grasty/technological-inventions-and-innovation_b_1397085.html
Jensen,
M. B, Johnson, B, Lorenz, E and Lundvall, B.A (2007).Forms of knowledge and
Modes of Innovation, Research policy, 36 (5), 680-693.
Olomi
D.R., (2006).Influence on entrepreneurial behaviour and Business success. In
D.R. Olomi (Ed).African entrepreneurship and Small business development, Dar es
Salaam: Otme Company LTD
Szczygielski,
K., (2011).What are service sector Innovations and how do we measure them? Case
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Research.
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Hippel, E. (2007).Horizontal innovation networks-by and for users. Industrial
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