What is engineering innovativeness

An innovation is the ‘implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), process, marketing method, ororganizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations’. Acting as innovators and as thetranslators of new or existing technology into innovations that benefit society is the torch that engineers are expected to carry.Multiple vague and overlapping definitions of innovative behavior by engineers lead to much confusion in our society over the rolethat engineers play or can play in the innovation process. In this paper we explore the innovative behavior of engineers and therelationship of that innovative behavior with the creative, problem solving, design and entrepreneurial behavior of engineers. Thesedifferent perspectives of defining the innovative behavior of engineers, or, as we call it, ‘innovativeness’ in engineers, illustrate thesocietal confusion over the definition of innovative behavior by engineers. The key question that we propose to answer is: ‘Whatset of intrinsic abilities (skills, knowledge, personality traits, or attributes) when combined with domain knowledge, experience andother extrinsic factors enable and inspire engineers to create innovations that benefit society?’

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