Organisational Innovation: A review of the literature

Abstract:

Australia is committed to ‘closing the gap’ in disadvantage in remote Australia. The question for agencies, organisations and businesses is how to close the gaps that have grown over the past 200 years. What is required is ‘something truly different in the market that makes your customers’ lives better’ (Baum 2004). While not all innovations will result in something truly different, probability informs us that the greater the number of innovations the greater the chance of solving the complex problems of remote Australia. The single most important factor in a company’s level of innovation competence is building an innovative culture that has total leadership commitment. In providing the right climate for innovation, leaders need to challenge and involve employees by committing to a big problem. Leaders also need to motivate, inspire and direct followers, overcome intra-organisational obstacles, and promote organisational innovation. Management innovation, more than any other kind of innovation, has allowed companies to cross new performance thresholds. The dramatic shifts in competitive advantage have come, not as a result of technology and product innovation, but as a result of innovation in management principles and processes that create longlasting advantage.