ABSTRACT
Th e Innovative Manufacturing Initiative (IMI) is well illustrated in the comparison with housebuilding undertaken by Gann (1996). Th ere is an increasing realization that innovation rather than invention is what gives a company a competitive edge. In this respect, the defi nition by Arthur Koestler (in his Th e Act of Creation) is highly relevant [Sherwood 1998]. He argues that “Innovation is borne out of the rearrangement of existing component patterns and is not creative in the Old Testament sense. It does not create something out of nothing. Instead it uncovers, selects, reshuffl es, combines, synthesizes already existing facts, ideas, faculties, and skills. Th e more familiar the parts, the more striking the new whole.”
