Essay On Importance Of Innovation

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Innovation1 has always been important to human progress. A brief glance at the history of humanity nicely illustrates this claim (see, for example, Williams, 2003; Hill, 1996). However, the advent of the industrial revolution, and its subsequent splice with capitalism in the 18th century (i.e. the so-called industrial capitalism), did not only make the significance of innovation more evident, but also, and as historical evidence suggests (e.g. Hosbawm, xxx; Trebillock, 2000), it also reinforced its significance further. Since then, innovation has been one of the most significant drivers of capitalist economic development (e.g. Freeman and Soete, 1997; Freeman, 1974; Schumpeter, 1934; 1942). More importantly, it has become the backbone of our modern way of living. Fagerberg (2005), for instance, nicely remind us of the impossibility to imagine our 'modern' way of living without the existence of a few innovations such as the airplane, car, mobile phone, personal computer, and the television. Despite its obvious significance, innovation has not always been considered as being important with regard to the study of economic progress. For instance, one of the most…show more content…
Lundvall, 2013; Tidd et al., 2005; Mylteka and Smith, 2002), the above two assumptions carry significant implications for not only innovation scholars, but also for both business managers and policy-makers. For instance, the assumption that innovation is a complex interactive process has been at the centre of many, if not all, successful business innovation strategies and models (e.g. Tidd et al., 2005). Similarly, the introduction of many innovation policies across the globe (e.g. De Bruijn and Lagendijk 2005, Chung 2002) has been motivated by the assumption that innovation constitutes one of the most powerful drivers in sustaining and expanding the wealth, employment and competitiveness of firms, national and regional economies in an increasing globalising
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