As apparent throughout the course, the word 'innovation' can have different meanings depending on who you're talking to. As explored in class, Mazzucato refers to innovations with three qualities: they are pervasive in that they spread into many sectors, they improve over time and should keep lowering the cost to their users, and they make it easier to spawn innovation through the invention and production of new products and processes. Schumpeter would also add innovations connect goods and services to new markets and can include innovation in the raw materials used to crease new products and services.However, Jim Balsillie, co-founder of Blackberry, offers a very specific definition of innovation: "the commercialization of ideas across all industries and sectors". He goes on to distinguish between invention: "science and technology...what universities do" and innovation: "getting money for [those] ideas". In fact, he suggests that defining innovation as anything else actually has adverse effects to the Canadian economy which is one of the primary reasons Canada lags behind the USA's economic growth.
It is important to consider the meaning behind the rhetoric used when speaking about innovation because as Balsillie highlights, improper or inconsistent/fragmented definitions of economic terms can result in negative economic growth outputs. This is because the rhetoric we use informs the development of public policy which either inhibits or exhibits effective innovation ecosystems.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/leadership/jim-balsillie-interview/
In todays society, the term "innovative" is thrown around quite loosely and in numerous contexts. It is interesting to see how this lack of definition or failure to properly define the term can create such a large impact, specifically on our economy.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/062.nsf/eng/home
After reading this post, I found that Canada's innovation agenda was a good place to start in terms of understanding what innovation means for the people, technologies, and companies within Canada and how a common understanding of what it means to be innovative can result in a clear vision and execution of new policies to be put in place going forward.
It's interesting to see the government define innovation in a collaborative way (via roundtables with business leaders and citizens). That being said, only 400 citizens were engaged across 28 roundtables - that's about 14 people per a roundtable and one can assume that the majority of participants would be concentrated in Ontario, Quebec, and/or maybe British Colombia (because of population distribution). So I question how 'inclusive' the interpretation and goals regarding innovation that are presented on this website are.
DeleteNadine, do you think a, as you say, a 'common' definition of innovation is possible across a country as diverse as Canada? Could innovation mean something very different to Indigenous populations living in the Territories compared to students living in an urban area like Waterloo?
After conducting some research, I also found that it seems as if number of organizations are unclear themselves, of what the term "innovation" means. It is important for companies to foster innovative thinking and embrace failure as much as success instead of only rewarding success. This allows for companies to learn from mistakes and think in terms of a bigger picture instead of simply focusing on their next task or next move.
ReplyDeleteAfter class discussion on the term "innovation" and then reflecting it upon my day to day life I have concluded that the term innovation is mainly used in reference to business and products. Kevin, as you said innovation allows companies to learn from their mistakes. However, I have noticed that most television advertisements refer to their new updated products as "innovated", when there was nothing wrong with them - rather they are updated products. The product itself isn't necessarily innovated but instead the technology or formula - it still does the same thing and produces the same outcome so is it innovated? or is it updated and improved?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/michellegreenwald/2015/01/12/top-11-innovative-products-and-services-of-2014/#3df08bf0492f
Take this Forbes article for example, they are claiming that Loubutin nail polish was innovative. But was it? In my opinion, NO WAY! It's still basic nail polish that chips off within a few days, but because it has the Loubutin name and is $100 a bottle its considered "innovative".
To conclude, I agree with Kevin that the term innovation is used incorrectly in some aspects in regards to business.
Great point, Zoey. Now that I think about it, so many products falsely use the word 'innovative' to describe minor changes in existing products. This reminds me of the type of 'innovation' that Mazzucato describes to be so typical of large corporations now that 'real' private sector R&D labs are increasingly closing due to profit reallocation to short-term shareholder return schemes.
DeleteI found another example of a not-so-innovative product labeled as such. Check out how Gillette uses the word 'innovative' in the first sentence of this product description (http://gillette.com/en-us/products/pre-and-post-shave/shaving-creams-gels-and-foams/fusion-proglide-sensitive-alpine-clean-mens-shaving-cream).
How has this product created 'innovation in smooth shaving'? Nothing about how the product enables users to clean shave has been disrupted...nothing about how I buy or apply this product is disrupted... There are so many other products that offer 2-in-1 shaving and skin care and not to mention, this new 'innovation' doesn't seem to be reducing the costs of shaving gel or skin care over time either...
I did my presentation on Thomas Frank's article "The Blue State Model". In it, Frank draws attention to the pervasiveness of 'innovation' in today's society as a concept, phenomenon, practice and economic model. However, he also points out its ambiguity and the difficulty to define or understand it. For him, he see's innovation as being more of rhetorical and ideological tool used to promote a new political/economic platform that favours entrepreneurship and supports the tech and knowledge industries. I think his opinion just highlights the many different ways innovation can be understood.
ReplyDelete