Radical innovation: crossing knowledge boundaries with ...

One interesting discovery was that dietary eicosapentaenoic acid (theme
“a” from literature AB) can decrease blood viscosity (theme “b” from
both literatures AB and literatures BC) and alleviate symptoms of
Raynaud’s disease (theme “c” from literature BC). There was no mention
of eicosapentaenoic acid in the Raynaud’s disease literature, but the acid
was linked to the disease through the blood viscosity themes in both
literatures. Subsequent medical experiments confirmed the validity of this
literature based discovery (Kostoff 1999:595).
These two methodologies, Kostoff argues, will help generate both discovery and
innovation. “The multidiscipline structured workshops can enhance the S and T
science and technology innovations process and …multi-discipline literature-based
analyses can enhance the S and T discovery process’ (Kostoff 1999:601).
12.6. Commercial innovation and knowledge transfer
The field of management studies has been particularly influential in the development
of ideas of ‘open innovation’ and the importance of collaboration and networking for
success in the commercial sector (e.g. Adler, Shani, and Styhre 2004, e.g. Johansson
2004, Merton and Barber 2004, Tuomi 2006). In this field studies of how particular
technological innovations have been made commercially successful are prominent.
For example Hargadon and Young argue that while Edison’s invention of the electric
light bulb is widely acknowledged, less recognised but just as significant was his
success in having his idea accepted by the public (in the form of both individuals and
organizations) (Hargadon and Douglas nd). The value of innovations, argue Hargadon
and Young, often lies in their capacity for cultural acceptance as much as technical
competence. And to be successful “entrepreneurs must locate their ideas within the
existing set of understandings and actions that constitute the institutional environment
yet set their innovations apart from what already exists” (Hargadon and Douglas
2001:476). They call this ‘robust design’. The gas industry was deeply embedded in
New York’s social, economic, political and physical infrastructures at the time Edison
commenced work on the development of an electric lighting system. Hargadon and
Young argue that Edison’s success in replacing gas with electricity as the main source
of lighting in New York was due to both his assertion of electricity’s difference and
superiority to gas, at the same time as he designed institutional structures such as the
centralised production and distribution of electricity, which conformed to the current
gas provision system.
The role of social and cultural factors in determining the success of innovation is also
the subject of Paul A. David’s account of the continued use of the QWERTY
keyboard long beyond the functional value of its design (David 1985). The QWERTY
layout of the keyboard was originally designed for use on typewriters in order to
prevent the clashing of keys when people typed quickly. At the same time the design
provided salesmen with the sales gimmick of typing out the word ‘typewriter’ from
the top row of letters. As typewriter technology advanced the technical feature of non-
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