Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change, 5th Edition

Chapter 5

Sources of Innovation

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5.1 Where do Innovations Come From?

Where do innovations come from? There's a good chance that asking that question will conjure images like that of Archimedes, jumping up from his bath and running down the street, too enthused by the desire to tell the world so that he forgot to get dressed. Or Newton, dozing under the apple tree until a falling apple helped kick his brain into thinking about the science of gravity. Or James Watt, also asleep, until woken by the noise of a boiling kettle. Such ‘Eureka’ moments are certainly a part of innovation folklore – and they underline the importance of flashes of insight which make new connections. They form the basis of the cartoon model of innovation which usually involves thinking bubbles and flashing light bulbs. And from time to time they do happen – for example, Percy Shaw's observation of the reflection in a cat's eye at night led to the development of one of the most widely-used road safety innovations in the world. Or George de Mestral, who noticed the way plant burrs became attached to his dog's fur whilst returning home from a walk in the Swiss Alps. This provided him with the inspiration ...