Innovation as newness: what is new, how new, and new to whom?

Innovation implies newness. To define and measure innovation better, we investigated three dimensions of newness: what is new, how new, and new to whom? Drawing on prior research by Schumpeter and Kirzner, we developed a scale that addresses six areas of innovative activity: new products, new services, new methods of production, opening new markets, new sources of supply, and new ways of organizing. Using factor analysis on data from two separate field studies – 684 firms from eight industries and 200 information technology firms – we found that innovation as newness represents a unidimensional construct, distinguished only by the degree of radicalness.

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