Our Understanding of Innovation

Apart from purely industrial and neoliberal paradigms and against the backrground of the emerging knowledge and service society innovation means more than new or better products that generate monetary profit.

A holistic understanding is necessary to conceive and use the multiple possibilities of innovations.

How do we define "Innovation"?

Innovation is the realization of new ideas that contribute to sustainable changes.

How do we define "Innovative Capability"?

The innovative capability of companies comprises the complex interrelationships between the human, organizational and technological requirements to continuously induce innovations.

Source: S. Trantow, F. Hees, S. Jeschke (2011): Innovative Capability - an Introduction to this Volume. In: S. Jeschke, I. Isenhardt, F. Hees, S. Trantow (Eds.): Enabling Innovation. Innovationsfähigkeit – Deutsche und internationale Perspektiven. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2011.