What is the real difference between invention and innovation?
There is a big difference. Invention is the discovery of new research, a new finding which might or might not lead to a new path. But innovation is much more than an invention. It is actually carrying a new idea and technology into the market and actually solving a problem for which a customer pays real money. The innovation journey is not done until there has been commercialisation. It is possible to be very inventive without being innovative and the reverse as well, so it is important to separate the two. We finish the innovation journey when we solve a problem. What sort of changes has it brought to industry in terms of organisational types and composition of the industry? I don’t have quantitative data but qualitatively there has been the emergence of specialised innovation labour. One group of emerging companies is invention intermediaries who have risen in the last few years. They make it their business to either help companies scout for external ideas and technologies to bring i
