ABSTRACT
In this chapter, innovation as a concept will be expanded by discussing why innovation is desirable and reviewing the main driving forces of innovation. We suggest that the purpose of innovation is increased or sustained profit and competitiveness, renewal, and fitness. Innovation, then, is a sign of organisational and business vitality.
Innovation can be seen as a driver of change, and change as a possible driver of innovation. Innovation is therefore a change that produces change. Whereas change is a universal phenomenon and arguably takes place in every domain, five specific constructs are introduced and discussed as drivers of change. The drivers of technology, competition, globalisation, new business models, and self-actualisation are inter-related and overlap each other. These constructs are opportunities for innovation, but there are also conditions that, while promoting innovation, also fundamentally challenge organisations. As such, one’s orientation on the purpose of innovation sets the frame for an understanding of innovation itself. The same is true in reverse: one’s understanding of innovation fixes one’s orientation around its purpose.
