ABSTRACT
Among the greatest of European innovations is that of the corporation. All innovations, following Plato, can be roughly divided into three types: aesthetic appeal, managerial innovations, scientific discovery or technological advancement. At Banco de Santander innovation became a culture and a challenge. Time-contingent innovation reflects the current stage in the corporate lifecycle corresponding with the needs for creation, elaboration and orientation. European research group finally turned to perhaps the climactic point of its innovative endeavours, in developing a model of leadership and innovation that spanned technology, management and aesthetics. Such a typology, then, could apply to a society as a whole, socially and culturally, economically and politically. Adam Smith's influence was strengthened by relating his economic ideas to the moral dimension of human action. Humanistic Southern cultures have a founding vision which is based on the organization, as is the case for Mondragon in Spain. As such, rational Northern cultures emphasize technological vision and industrial enterprise.
