What is innovation? This is a question we hear often and the answer is often shrouded in myth and described as magic. It is more often than not describe in overly complicated terms, yet is by nature a simple concept.
The following definitions are a useful starting point. The first is from the OECD (1994), an organization that includes both technical and organizational aspects in its definition – this is the definition reflected in the national frameworks. Thus, innovation is defined as:
“any new products or processes and significant technological change in products and processes. An innovation has been implemented if it has been introduced to the market (product innovation) or used within a production process (process innovation). Innovations therefore involve a series of scientific, technological, organizational, financial and commercial activities.”
Richards (1985) defines innovation as the process through which new and valuable ideas are put into practice.
The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management (Dodgson, et. al. 2014) have a range of definitions, best described collectively as “Ideas, successfully applied”.
Innovation would appear a simple concept, and we make it unnecessarily complicated.
References:
Mark Dodgson, David M. Gann, and Nelson Phillips (2014) The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management Oxford: ISBN: 9780199694945
OECD (1994), The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities (‘Frascati Manual’), OECD, Paris.
Rickards, T. (1985), Stimulating Innovation, Frances Printer, London.