Innovation

Innovation literally means " innovation " or " renewal". The word is from the Latin verb innovare ( renew ) derived. In everyday language, the term is used in the sense of new ideas and inventions and their commercial implementation. In a narrower sense innovations resulting only from ideas if these are transformed into new products, services or processes that actually find successful application and market penetrate (diffusion).

In economics, the term was introduced by Joseph Schumpeter 's theory of innovation; Here it is defined as installation of a new production function. Economic and social change, when factors of production in a novel manner are combined. Also in the humanities and culture, the term is used innovation. The exploratory search for new knowledge or artistic solution paths and solutions sets curiosity and desire to advance renewal. The terms avant-garde and creativity are relevant here.

General

Historically, there are times when innovations arose episodic. In this case, a related development pressure as a result of social conditions or negative factors, for example in the form of wars, crop failures, overpopulation or the occurrence of innovations ( " Necessity is the mother of invention "). Innovations resulting from ( "Research and Development " R & D, R & D for english research and development ).

"Western cultures traditionally emphasize rather the active creative aspect of creativity in the sense of the Latin, creare ', create the, create and make meaning. In ancient Egypt and in Eastern cultures, in contrast, creativity appears to be inserting into a natural growth process that resonates in the second linguistic root of creativity: " crescere " ( "will", " done ", " grow - let ") ".

An Invention ( invention) is not an innovation. Inventions include new ideas to concrete including prototype or concept development in the pre-marketing phase. From innovation in the economic sense can only be spoken when within an economy, the production process is changed.

Classification

New can mean a subjective novelty in this sense a genuine world novelty or from a single company, employee's point of view etc.. For an innovation is not only the novelty; rather, it also has to cover a need, that is, it must appear to be useful from the standpoint of users.

One distinguishes a variety of innovation categories, eg

• Product, process, business model and management innovation,
• Technical and organizational innovation,
• Service innovation,
• Business model innovation,
• Design innovation,
• Social Innovation.

After the manner of their production, one can distinguish

• Closed innovation ( "Closed Innovation ") (the innovators are located exclusively within an organization ) and
• Open innovation ( "open innovation" ): Organizations can rely on in an increasingly diversified world -wide distributed knowledge not only on their own innovation, but are increasingly dependent on the integration and use of external information and skills.

Differences are innovations according to their degree of "novelty". In this case, we consider the combination of the object or purpose of the product and the means by which this aim is achieved. Achieved an Innovation in both dimensions high values ​​, so it is also called a radical, disruptive, revolutionary or jump innovation in contrast to incremental innovation. Is innovation a fundamental technology for an entire field, it is called basic innovation.

Economic and social sciences use

According to Joseph Schumpeter ( Theory of Economic Development, 1911), innovation is the implementation of a technical or organizational innovation in the production process, not just the relevant invention.

Innovator is for Schumpeter the "creative entrepreneur" (as opposed to arbitrage entrepreneurs who exploited only existing price differences for profit), which drives the process of creative destruction in search of new fields of action. Its driving force is based on the short-term innovation monopolies, which provide the innovative entrepreneurial pioneer pensions. The non-cash benefits (including innovation awards ) incurred by the innovative improvements, for example, by the higher productivity of a process innovation or through higher monopoly pricing of a product innovation.

According to Jürgen Hauschildt it is basically a case of an innovation to something "new": new products, new markets, new processes, new practices, new processes, new distribution channels, new advertising claims and much more. Innovations are in its result something " Novel ", which differ markedly from the previous state. This novelty has to be perceptible; only he who perceives the innovation for which there can be an innovation. The novelty is that ends and means are in a form not previously known linked. This link must be on the market or proven intra-corporate ( commercial). Thus, for a given purpose (eg driving a car ) with new agents (hydrogen, LPG ​​, natural gas, etc.) are met or with given means ( for example, existing telephone line), a new purpose to be created ( use for data transmission on the Internet). The mere production of an idea is not enough - until sale or use of an innovation differs from invention.

Peter Drucker examined as one of the first scientists, what sources of innovation exist. He identifies seven sources of innovation in 1986 plus the "big idea". The latter has charm, but fails most often.

Clayton Christensen is considered the discoverer of disruptive innovation. This aims to address new markets or new customer groups by a radical change of the products.

Multidimensional Approach

The number of definitions of innovation seems to have grown even more rapidly since its invention as the number of innovation researchers. In this case one observes the most contradictory Arrivals: How innovation seems equally new products as well as the process of manufacture or distribution to describe new products.

After all, there is so far a consensus that innovation must at least have the root word by a reference to the new. "New" refers here not only on a time horizon, but also refers to an objective and a social dimension:

• Innovation as newness: In the tangible dimension of innovation we observe the uniqueness of previously unknown, and meanwhile unprecedented artifacts such as products, methods or services.
• Innovation as a change: In the time dimension of innovation innovations appear to us as new processes ( which at best his part lead to novel artifacts ) in the sense of transformations of diffusions or simply of changes.
• Innovation as a projection: In the social dimension of innovation we are referring to new forms of benefit ( eg in the form of the election of new, attractive products and their use as status symbols ) associated with new forms of address management and also as a projection can be observed.

Innovation Management

Typically, innovation management is divided into three phases:

Innovation Research

The innovation research is the one with the question, under what conditions and in which socio-economic processes innovations come into being, that is the genesis of new problem-solving application field combinations and the emergence and development of a regional and / or national innovation system.

This may relate to a product innovation, but also a new form of organization, technology, process or a new field of application. On the other hand interested in the innovation research, how these goals can be realized; So it deals with innovation processes and thus the question of the transition of the relevant subject / object from the state t0 to the state t1. The focus of process evaluation are process forms, for example, consciously controlled, self-organizing or informally or en passant running processes, as well as the possibilities and limitations of a specific design or influence. The following factors play in the diffusion ( enforcement) of Innovations ( Everett M. Rogers ) play a role:

As part of the target groups of the adoption of the innovation can be distinguished the following groups according to the innovation or after the process:

• Innovators - the first 5 to 10%, take the product
• Early adopters - the next 10 to 15%
• Early majority - a further 30%
• Late majority - a further 30%
• Laggards ( laggards ) - remaining 20 %

(: "Path dependence" in English ) of innovation processes and their results Recently, the research interest of path dependency is increasingly seen. The focus is on the assumption that the development history of an organization, a product, technology, etc. affect future development opportunities and act wise and limited ( " history matters "). In consideration of the history would thus not every innovation any desired goal achievable.

Hardening of the findings to date, has the consequences for innovation in business practice: These do not have more short-lived trend concepts to chase if they want to innovate. Rather, they are directed to look more to their own potential and their historical formation to develop competitive advantages based on real unique selling points.

This contrasts with findings in innovation research, according to which innovation arise mainly at the border between systems and cultures and in different actors dialog ( open innovation, Contact Innovation ) and non-static core competencies, but the ability to dynamically exchange resources are innovation crucial.

The importance of individual actors or employees in the innovation process is increasingly recognized. For example, reveals a global survey of top managers that employees be counted among the most important sources of innovation. Since the origin of every innovation initially are creative ideas that are spawned and driven by individuals or teams, the innovative behavior of employees plays a crucial role in the innovation success.

The innovative behavior is reflected in different phases of the innovation process. It includes both the development of new ideas, their appropriation or development and their implementation. This innovation behavior of creative behavior and creativity, which only refers to the idea generation is different.

The previous findings in innovation research suggests that particularly the leadership style has a significant influence on the innovation behavior of employees. While innovation behavior is predominantly associated with positive effects on innovation success, but also conflict and can thereby decreasing performance caused. This may be due, among other things, be that supervisors and colleagues associated with innovative approaches and ideas changes of proven patterns and processes are critical.

According to IW - Trends of the Institute of the German Economy in Cologne (2005 ), based on 2004 data in comparison of 15 industrialized countries, Germany achieved 11th place with an innovation value of 41.7 (with a range from zero to 100). Other places: 1 U.S. ( value 77.9 ), 2 United Kingdom ( value 64.0 ) and 3 Sweden ( value 63.9 ).

The Innovation Indicator for Germany is 150 examined individual indicators probably the widest established indicator to measure innovation in Germany. It will be created annually for the Deutsche Telekom Foundation and the Federation of German Industry ( BDI) by the German Institute for Economic Research ( DIW). In the Innovation Indicator for Germany 2008 Germany again reached Rank 8 in the competition of 17 leading industrialized nations, but increases its distance to the leaders. Germany also falls in the single indicator formation two places to rank 15th

Since 2009, the model of reverse innovation is increasingly discussed. It refers to innovation processes in developing and emerging markets, which should lead to less capital-intensive, cheaper and adapted to local needs technologies.