The Cognitive Nature of the Innovation Process

Abstract

The first part of this book unveiled four main findings. First, innovation is a subtle concept. Even if everybody has a broad idea of what innovation is, when we start digging, innovation appears to be a particularly complex notion. Second, innovation is mainly performed in firms. Although individuals or other types of organization, such as universities, research institutions, and hospitals, participate to a large extent in the innovation effort and can be the source of important innovations, the vast majority of innovations are in fact implemented by private firms. Third, innovation is crucial to economic growth and standards of living in the long run. In today’s globalized economy in which knowledge is crucial, innovation plays a key role in sustaining and developing competitive edge. Fourth, innovation is difficult to measure. As innovation is a continuous process involving some kind of novelty and qualitative change, it complicates its own measurement.