IP Outreach Research > IP Creation
Reference
| Title: | The relationship between implementation, creativity and innovation in small business ventures |
| Author: | M Pretorius, S M Millard and M E Kruger [Pretoria University] |
| Source: | Management Dynamics 15, no. 1: 2-13 |
| Year: | 2006 |
Details
| Subject/Type: | Creativity, Innovation |
| Focus: | Barriers, Success Factors |
| Country/Territory: | South Africa |
| Objective: | To explore the levels of creativity, innovation and orientation towards implementation of South African venture (business) managers, and to investigate the nature of the relationship between creativity, innovation and implementation orientation. In particular, to find out whether the low level of entrepreneurial activity in South Africa can be explained by low creativity, innovation and implementation. |
| Sample: | 218 owners, owner-managers and managers of small ventures |
| Methodology: | Structured questionnaire |
Main Findings
The study found only an insignificant relationship between small business managers' own creativity and the innovativeness of their ventures. Thus, seemingly, creativity needs not generate innovation, nor does innovation automatically establish creativity. Not only did the study fail to establish a clear link between creativity and innovativeness, but also failed to ascertain any positive relationship between creativity/innovativeness and the ability to implement innovations.
Accordingly, South African venture managers perceived themselves as creative and were of the opinion that their ventures are innovative, but they did not report a strong ability to implement their innovations.
The lacking implementation of creativity and innovation could thus be the missing key entrepreneurial success factor explaining the low overall entrepreneurship activity in South Africa. In view of this apparent lack of will to implement and of ability to take action, the authors suggest that implementation skills receive high priority in the training and development of entrepreneurs.
[Date Added: Aug 18, 2008 ]