The Innovative Company

The concept of innovation is the result of human activities carried out to produce a new product, service or something new that creates value. More recently, the idea of an innovative enterprise, organization or company has emerged, thanks to an increasing interest in innovation as an essential process in a variety of economic, technological and sociological contexts. This book is part of a set on Innovation between Risk and Reward and focuses on the close relationship between innovation and knowledge. It provides the reader with the outline of an innovative company, focusing on the organizational aspects that contribute to defining it and sketching out the profile of what an innovative company is or should be in the age of knowledge. The authors explore the literary corpus in order to outline the state of the art but also the reality of innovative enterprise in the form of meetings and interviews with both large and small companies.

The concept of innovation is the result of human activities carried out to produce a new product, service or something new that creates value. More recently, the idea of an innovative enterprise, organization or company has emerged, thanks to an increasing interest in innovation as an essential process in a variety of economic, technological and sociological contexts.This book is part of a set on Innovation between Risk and Reward and focuses on the close relationship between innovation and knowledge. It provides the reader with the outline of an innovative company, focusing on the organizational aspects that contribute to defining it and sketching out the profile of what an innovative company is or should be in the age of knowledge.The authors explore the literary corpus in order to outline the state of the art but also the reality of innovative enterprise in the form of meetings and interviews with both large and small companies.

Foreword viiAcknowledgements xvIntroduction xviiChapter 1 Evolution of the Concept of Innovation 11.1 Major steps in the evolution of the concept of innovation 21.2 Paradigm shift 6Chapter 2 Innovation: A Knowledge-based Phenomenon 112.1 A knowledge-based view of firm innovation 122.2 Knowledge management 13Chapter 3 Pivots of Innovation in the Age of Knowledge 213.1 Creativity 213.2 Organizational ambidexterity 37Chapter 4 The Various Approaches to Innovation Adopted by Companies 534.1 External approaches 534.1.1 Alliances, subcontracting and other interindustry contractual forms 544.1.2 Open innovation in various forms 554.2 Internal and organizational approaches 574.2.1 Participative innovation 574.2.2 Communities of practice and/or innovation 644.2.3 Intrapreneurship, adhocracy and forms of organizational entrepreneurship 674.2.4 Company social networks 734.2.5 Other creative and agile processes 76Chapter 5 Organizational Levers 835.1 An innovation-oriented strategic posture 835.2 A culture of innovation 905.3 Innovation management 965.4 The innovative company, a concept that applies to small or large companies? 104Conclusion 111Bibliography 119Index 137