Business creativity : an evolutionary approach

Baracskai, Zoltán and Dörfler, Viktor and Velencei, Jolán (2007) Business creativity : an evolutionary approach. In: 66th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, 2007-01-01. (http://meeting.aomonline.org/2007/)

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Abstract

Skype innovated the communication and was acquired by eBay for nearly $4 billion altogether. They did something good and now they also do well. There are companies which reject any kinds of change but also seem to be doing well. How are both possible? In this paper we attempt to answer this question by establishing an evolutionary framework to examine organizations and particularly their approach to creativity and innovation. We re-examine the Neo-Darwinian school of evolution and formulate some objections while accepting some ideas, mostly from the Neo rather than from the Darwinian part; thus establishing our own evolutionary framework. Within this framework we discuss the evolution of ideas and the knowledge increase to understand the educational background of new generation decision takers. We also review the changes of the organizational strategy in the e-age; to get a picture of the organizational context of creativity and innovation we discuss the role of the dynamic and static quality in e-age organizations. Pulling all these together we describe four fitness categories of innovation; we use animal names as metaphors of the categories: the first swallows, the parrots that repeat, the bear awaking form the winter-long hibernation, and the frog that enjoys itself in the changeless swamp. One fitness is not better than another, only your fitness and your habitat (fitness landscape) must be in harmony. That we need for survival.