Title: Question of maintaining innovative activities: proposing a cognitive grid of creativity

Authors: Cecile Ayerbe, Cecile Fonrouge

Addresses: University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, LEM-Rodige, 250 rue Albert Einstein, Bat. 2, Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne 06 560, France. ' Universite d'Evry, Centre Pierre Naville, UFR SSG rue du facteur cheval, Evry 91000, France

Abstract: This paper examines the way in which existing writings view the extension between innovations. It proposes a cognitive grid as a support for innovative activity which connects one innovation to another, based on the different possible ways of reasoning (analogical, inductive and deductive). The grid is applied to nine transitions of innovations for five small to medium-sized firms. The analogical method operates by transposing technology to another sector, the deductive method uses deductions from new interpretations of the environment and the inductive method infers from the second innovation of specific cases which are not tackled by the first one. It is a complementary tool of creativity aiming to maintain innovative activity: a tool which oversteps and integrates previous management techniques which, as we see it, presently confine themselves to being individual organisational or technological commands.

Keywords: ongoing innovation; management tool; study cases; cognition; cognitive grid; SMEs; small-to-medium sized enterprises; creativity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2004.005648

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2004 Vol.5 No.4, pp.373 - 391

Published online: 08 Nov 2004 *

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