Abstract
The search for the source of innovation is the pursuit of an economic ‘holy grail’ – an eternal fount of valuable new products, processes and services. To find this source, many organisations are moving towards a more interactive, networked and open approach to innovation that creates multiple pathways of exchange between themselves and the external world. These new models have profound implications for how individuals and businesses innovate. For individuals, these new models may shift their role from being the creator of valuable new knowledge, to being a broker, who mobilizes the knowledge of others. For businesses, it requires a re-imagining of the innovation process, developing the ability to orchestrate multiple partners. Yet, such efforts face many challenges – legal, managerial, and personal. Drawing on the lessons of research, this lecture will unpack the changing nature of the search for innovation and its implications for society.
Biography
Ammon Salter is a Professor of Technology and Innovation Management in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at the Imperial College Business School, Research Director of the UK Innovation Research Centre (UK~IRC) and a Fellow of the Advanced Institute of Management. He is the co-Director of the Innovation Studies Centre and was appointed by the EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science to sit on a High Level Panel on the Measurement of Innovation. His current research focuses on the distributed and open models of innovation and the role of networks in shaping innovative performance.