From the Process of Innovation to Innovation as Process

We begin this paper by examining the process of innovation using Usher’s model of cumulative synthesis which comprises four steps: perception of an incomplete pattern, setting of the stage, the act of insight, and critical revision and full mastery. Going beyond a synoptic view on the process of innovation implied by this sequence, Usher’s model also anticipates a performative view of innovation as process. In this latter view, innovation is an on-going accomplishment with actors contextualizing their projects in light of their aspirations and memories. We explicate such a performative view by discussing the complexities of innovation. Considerations of performativity suggest several implications that are different from those offered by a synoptic view.

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