Resistance To Innovation

1.1.1 Resistance to Innovation

In 1999, Hauschildt comes to the conclusion that there are constructive and destructive boundaries against innovation. Technical, economical and legal arguments are designated as constructive and deeper rooted barriers such as “can’t” and “don’t want” are seen as destructive innovation constraints (Hauschildt, 1999, P.2). Whether it is destructive or constructive, organizational resistance to innovation is the starting point of understanding the need for change (Schreyögg & Conrad (Eds.), 2002, p.42).

1.1.2 Invention to Innovation

There are two basic models to explain the formation and development of innovation: the linear and the interactive model (Trippl, Maier & Tödtling, 2012, p.109). Specht and Beckmann

It then grows to innovation by bringing an economic benefit to the company and differentiating it from the competitors. The innovation process is concluded by diffusion, where invention has grown to innovation, adapted by a competitor (Burr, 2017, p.26). This model represents the linear innovation process. In 2000 Wengenroth claims that this model is dead, but there is no substitute for it (Cahan, 2003, p.221). Much more suitable to the dynamic changes in today’s environment is the interactive innovation process. In this model innovation results from the interaction between higher education, economy and government and it lets employees contribute to the innovation processes through their tacit knowledge. According to Manfred Fischer, interactive (non-linear) innovation processes are characterized by “complex feedback mechanisms and interactive relations involving research, technology, production and the market”. The recombination of knowledge segments in the interactive innovation process can overcome the limits of individual technologies and disciplines (Carayannis, Barth & Campbell, 2012, p.17; Fischer, 2006, p.130; Schamp, 2005,

According to Billing, innovations are market-related and technology-related. Both innovations can be new to the market (macro) and new to the company (micro) (Billing, 2003, p.31). Furthermore, by measuring the degree of newness, innovations can be radical and incremental. Radical innovation is the result of product, process and organizational innovation. It is associated with high level of uncertainty and therefore, it has to be managed separately from incremental innovation (Garcia & Calantone, 2002, p.121). Incremental innovations are improvements of products and processes, which rely on existing and acknowledged methods. They contribute towards continuous improvement of productivity and are initiated by supply and demand pressure. (Freeman & Perrez, 1988, p.45). Incremental innovation is mostly unnoticeable for the end customer (Kaschny, Nolden & Schreuder, 2015, p.28). For Hauschildt, disruption cannot emerge from incremental innovation. While constant optimization measures are pursued, companies lag behind the development of radical innovation, which leads to high dependency and increases again the need of incremental innovation (Schreyögg & Conrad (Eds.), 2002,