APPROACHES TO INNOVATION: The need for consistency

Abstract

The term “innovation” is core to modern science and society with respect to novelty, creation and added value, yet it is also a source of misunderstandings. We aim herein at the clarification of the different approaches to innovation by establishing three general types: background, basic and applied innovations. The relation between the three concepts is also established. The exclusive relationship between innovation and market is put into question. The contradictory conceptions of innovation are also accompanied by complementary connotations that can enrich one to other. Finally, a transversal proposal to deal with “innovation” in different environments is presented.