Abstract
Throughout history innovation has been conceived, defined, interpreted and understood in different ways but what is it? This study looks at innovation starting with a brief history of innovation. It then looks at a sample of the multiple definitions that there are of innovation throughout the literature and from these develops a composite definition. From this composite definition, key components such as the creative process and academic models of creativity are looked at. The research then looks at the applicability of innovation through highlighting two studies carried out in England of innovation being applied within a social housing organisation. Through the application by a two dimensional typology of social innovation they had identified innovation being applied to new services and improvements to existing services. The research concludes that innovation can be identified with the creation of a new product or service or an improvement of an existing product or service.
Highlights
Society has developed with the implementation of ideas that have come together to create new solutions to problems or improvements to existing systems, processes, products or attempted solutions
It looks at a sample of the multiple definitions that there are of innovation throughout the literature and from these develops a composite definition
The research looks at the applicability of innovation through highlighting two studies carried out in England of innovation being applied within a social housing organisation
Summary
Society has developed with the implementation of ideas that have come together to create new solutions to problems or improvements to existing systems, processes, products or attempted solutions. Having ideas, implementing them, developing new ways of doing things and improving existing ways of doing things have been part of mankind’s history [1]. The coming together of ideas and the process for developing solutions to problems has been called innovation, but what is it and how does it happen? We need to be able to define what it is and some of the definitions within the existing literature need to be examined to understand how it is understood by different sections of the academic, political and professional communities. Creativity and the development of ideas are key components within the innovation process and this research looks at the creative process. To provide a context within which we can focus on innovation, it is worth looking at the history of innovation briefly
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