Categories of Innovation
The term innovation is often associated with products. When we think
about innovation we think about a physical product: a television, car, or
digital music player. However, innovation can also occur in processes that
make products, services that deliver products, and services that provide
intangible products. Many services don’t involve physical products at all.
For example, a hospital or government department offers a range of services
without producing products. In this book we focus on innovation in
the organizational context, and although product innovation is an important
part of this, it is still only a part. We can say that innovation relates to
products, processes, and services.
Product innovation is about making beneficial changes to physical
products. Examples include
Introducing a new screen size for TVs
Changing from a CRT TV to a flat screen
Adding functionality such as Internet access to TVs