Title: Connectivity creates innovation

Authors: Rudy L. Ruggles III

Addresses: Collaborative Innovation Services, 22 Autumn Road, Weston, MA 02493, USA

Abstract: Innovation powers growth and reduces cost. Recently, whole new innovation approaches have become available with the rise of connectivity. While noting that connectivity can be used to enhance all stages of the innovation lifecycle, this paper focuses on how companies are using online forums to enhance the generation and development of new ideas by informal networks of people. It describes the essential elements of such forums (open contribution, peer review, joint development and context setting), drawing upon work done by several companies and on the development of a software application to support collaborative idea generation and development.

Keywords: innovation; connectivity; communities of practice; social software; collaboration; idea generation; online forums.

DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2004.004789

International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 2004 Vol.3 No.1, pp.116 - 121

Published online: 07 Jul 2004 *

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