Innovation

Question 1

Innovation Definition

Answer 1

“The introduction of newness into a system usually, but not always, in relative terms and by the application (and occasionally invention) of a new idea”

 This produces a process of transformation that brings about a discontinuity in terms of the subject (service/product) itself and/or its environment (organization/market/community)

Question 2

Questions in Innovation

Answer 2

 Market Pull or Research Push?
 Organizational Distress or Organizational Slack?
 Who benefits and how?
 Product or Process?

Question 3

Relationship between the impact of an innovation on its organizational context (process) and upon the wider market (product)

Answer 3

o Niche-creation
o Regular
o Architectural
o Revolutionary

Question 4

What is an Innovation in the Public Sector?

Answer 4

 Innovation is a word that labels a concept
 Innovation has a strong positive normative overtone
 Innovation is risky: People in government fear nothing more than newsworthy failure
 Historically, the public sector has been a major source of innovation, e.g. the Internet and the World Wide Web
 Innovation in the public sector is nothing new: public authorities have been promoting, adapting to, and regulating innovations
 Innovation is the introduction of new elements into a public service – in the form of new knowledge, a new organization, and/or processual skills

Question 5

Innovation Process MODEL

Answer 5

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Question 6

Innovation vs. Change

Answer 6

 Change and innovation are overlapping phenomena
 Change is a broad phenomenon that includes the gradual improvement/development of:
o The design of service
o The structure of the organization providing it
o The management/administration of the organization
o The skills required to provide and manage the service
 Innovation is a specific form of change: It represents discontinuity with the past

Question 7

Classification of innovation MODEL

Answer 7

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Question 8

Roles of Public Organizations & Customer

Answer 8

o Users of new innovations (adopting innovation)
o Key partners in user-producer developments (generating innovation)
o Suppliers of complementary services and infrastructures
o Innovators in its own right
o Regulators

Question 9

Different types of innovation

Answer 9

	Service innovation
	Service delivery innovation
	Administrative and organizational innovation
	Conceptual innovation
	Policy innovation
	Systemic innovation

Question 10

How does innovation spread

Answer 10

Innovation Diffusion and Innovation Adoption

Question 11

 Definition of innovation diffusion:

Answer 11

o “the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system”

Question 12

4 main elements diffusion

Answer 12

innovation, communication channels, time and the social system

Question 13

 Definition of Innovation adoption

Answer 13

o The process that results in the assimilation of a product, process, or practices that is new to the adopting organization

Question 14

5 Stages of Adoption MODEL

Answer 14

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Question 15

 Innovativeness (in innovation diffusion theory)

Answer 15

o The degree to which an individual/member is relatively earlier in adopting an innovation than other members of his social system

Question 16

Speeds in Rate of Adoption

Answer 16

	Innovators
	Early Adopters 
	Early Majority 
	Late Majority 
	Laggards

Question 17

The impact of innovation on the organization

Answer 17

 Innovation seeks to improve organizational performance
 Organizational performance is often analyzed by focusing on productivity, excellence and the number of innovations adopted
 The adoption of innovation is facilitated by the innovativeness of an organization
 Public sector innovativeness is the capacity of a public organization to generate new ideas, processes, practices, or programs (considering multiple innovations)

Question 18

What factors influence the Innovative Capacity of Organizations

Answer 18

	Formal Structure
o	Organizational Structure 
	Internal Environment 
o	Organizational Culture 
	External Environment
o	Competitive environment, network theory

Question 19

 Public sector innovativeness is shaped through ongoing tensions between constraining and enabling factors, such as:

Answer 19

o	Budget
o	Leadership
o	Innovation process 
o	Organizational culture
o	Motivated individuals

Question 20

Holistic View: Factors influencing Innovation

Answer 20

	External Incentives
o	Innovation drivers & facilitators
	Public Sector entrepreneurs 
o	Entrepreneurs are the driving force of innovation, creative individuals, well-connected, risk takers, have certain skills in developing new contacts
	Bottom-up and Top-down innovation
o	Top-down: political entrepreneurs
o	Bottom-up: Service entrepreneurs 
	Impact of NPM on innovation
o	Acquiring and developing private sector management skills and practices 
	Customer implications

Question 21

Key needs for funding innovation

Answer 21

 Shaping the nature of public service innovation
o Priorities have implications
 Funding strategy
o Selection of the type of innovation to be funded
 Opportunity costs
o Innovation needs time, energy and resources
 No window dressing
o Real innovations following the given definition
 Risks and the potential for failure
o Sharing of risks and potential for failure with stakeholders

Question 22

Key needs for managing innovation

Answer 22

 Innovation is not a discrete phenomenon
o Each type of innovation requires a different approach
 Organizational structure only as basis
o The innovative capacity of an organization is influenced by several factors
 Positive orientation to the external environment
o Stimulate, support, and integrate innovative activities by being open
 No isolated hero innovators
 Shaping the environment