Big Bang or Continuous Evolution: Why Incremental Innovation is Gaining Attention in Successful Organisations
- 1 June 1992
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Creativity and Innovation Management
- Vol. 1 (2) , 59-62
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.1992.tb00029.x
Abstract
Considerable competitive success can be gained through a continuous stream of incremental improvements made over a sustained period of time. In the West, we have tended to look for the ‘big bang’ solution to manufacturing problems, relying on the step jumps offered by major radical innovation to improve performance. However, experience in Japan and other countries has demonstrated the significant potential of continuous improvement to enhance competitiveness across several dimensions such as productivity, quality, flexibility and responsiveness. At its heart, continuous improvement (CI) is an organisational innovation requiring the mobilisation and commitment of all employees within a firm. Experience in the UK has shown that CI can work, but its introduction and successful management is not automatic.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- A Measure of the Rate of Technological Progress in the Petroleum Refining IndustryJournal of Industrial Economics, 1958