Any endeavour that exceeds the skills and resources of an individual or that entails significant uncertainty and risk benefits from collaboration. At the same time, we have a very human inclination to share only the risk, while retaining the benefits for ourselves. This desire for selective sharing defines a love-hate relationship that applies to innovation as well.
Category: society & politics
An innovation system … kind of …
Recently, I've presented ideas about the innovation landscape, the protagonists, and their interactions that range from competition to cooperation. Taken together, these ideas describe all elements of an innovation system and its context: a system that produces and delivers the innovation that is needed, to those that need it, when they need it. Well, kind of ...
Competition or cooperation ??
Previously, I discussed the characteristic roles of three innovation protagonists: societies, organisations, and entrepreneurs. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, and all of them interact with one another. But how do those interactions work? More like competition? More like cooperation?
More from the bird’s eye view …
Cardwell's Law takes a bird's eye view on competition in innovation. Though well supported by historic evidence, it only addresses the symptoms, but not the underlying reasons why a society actually engages in such competition. Time to take second look.
A bird’s eye view on competition
So far, I have viewed the innovation landscape through the lens of a single society and what happens inside it. However, there are many regional and even local societies, with partial overlaps, some commonalities and many differences. today, I’ll have an initial glance at competition in the innovation landscape.
understanding innovation 