Towards the science of managing for innovation: the beginning

Abstract

Some might argue that ever so nimble and responsive innovation paradigms can rarely be managed scientifically. We propose a more inclusive perspective. Science of managing for innovation has certain characteristics which we identify through the acronym “ROTRUS”- Real-world, Observable, Testable, Replicable, Uncertain and Social. Real-world refers to the notion that innovation happens in practical settings, be bound by resources and capabilities. This real-world is the context in which the observable events occur. To progress the understanding of formative predictors and their impact on innovation, the innovation events need to be observable. This may be challenging if we are to believe that much of the innovation is driven by heuristics (see e.g. Lopez-Vega, Tell and Vanhaverbeke, 2016; Nisch and Veer, 2018). Observable evidence in our perspective does not mean it needs to be capable of being observed but includes events or phenomenon that were observed. In this sense, managerial heuristics once actioned become observed evidence, such that observable evidence is any evidence that can be or has been experienced by one or many, regardless of whether this can be observed by a third party. (...)