The Process of Innovation

Keith Pavitt
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Keith Pavitt: SPRU, University of Sussex, http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/

No 89, SPRU Working Paper Series from SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School

Abstract: The paper argues that innovation processes can be cognitive, organisational and/or economic. They happen in conditions of uncertainty and (in the capitalist system) of competition. Three broad, overlapping sub-processes of innovation are identified: the production of knowledge; the transformation of knowledge into products, systems, processes and services; and the continuous matching of the latter to market needs and demands. The paper identifies key trends in each of these areas: (1) increasing specialisation in knowledge production; (2) increasing complexity in physical artefacts, and in the knowledge bases underpinning them; and (3) the difficulties of matching technological opportunities with market needs and organisational practices. Despite advances in scientific theory and information and communication technologies (ICTs), innovation processes remain unpredictable and difficult to manage. They also vary widely according to the firm's sector and size. Only two innovation processes remain generic: co-ordinating and integrating specialised knowledge, and learning in conditions of uncertainty. The paper also touches on the key challenges now facing 'innovation managers' within modern industrial corporations, bearing in mind the highly contingent nature of innovation.

Keywords: innovation processes; specialised knowledge production; knowledge transformation; modern industrial corporations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2003-06-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sru:ssewps:89

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