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The concept of innovation
Just what is innovation? This unit examines the issues surrounding the concept...
Just what is innovation? This unit examines the issues surrounding the concept of innovation. What is the difference between innovation and invention? How are organisations affected by innovation: are all of the outcomes positive? You will learn how to analyse this concept and its impact on resources, capabilities and competencies.
After studying this unit you should:
- understand why and how innovation is important;
- recognise the benefits which innovation can confer on an innovating organisation.
- Duration: 3 hours
- Published on: Tuesday 12th July 2011
- Level: Intermediate
- Posted under: Technology Management
The concept of innovation
Introduction

This unit will examine some of the key ideas connected with innovation in organisations. You will be introduced to some important concepts which are used to analyse innovation, in particular the distinction between innovation and invention. In exploring the theme of innovation, general links will be made to the implications for the business functions.
This material is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Understanding Business Functions (B202) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
Archive content
This is an extract from an Open University course which is no longer available to new students. If you found this interesting you could explore more free Technology Management course units or view the range of currently available OU Technology Management courses.
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- Creative-Commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence. However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions. Full details can be found in the Acknowledgements section.
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