Thought Worlds Colliding: The Role of Contradiction in Corporate Innovation Processes

C. Marlene Fiol

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 1995, vol. 19, issue 3, 71-90

Abstract: Contradiction Is the home of creativity. Creative breakthroughs most often result from the juxtaposition of widely divergent bodies of knowledge and experience. This article develops a model of corporate Innovation that identifies contradictory knowledge components and ways that they combine over time for creative activities to be initiated and developed in large organizations. It illustrates the applicability of the model In the case of a successful corporate new-venture development process. The results support the central argument: Large, multi-functional organizations provide fertile grounds for the seeds of entrepreneurial activities in that they encompass the contradictions needed for creative thought and action.

Date: 1995
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:entthe:v:19:y:1995:i:3:p:71-90

DOI: 10.1177/104225879501900306

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