Jensen, P. and Webster, E. (2007). “Making a measure for all innovation”, The Age, 9th May, Business Day section, p.14.
Innovation is one of those concepts that everyone – from economists to business strategists, and politicians to policymakers – embraces with vigour. People can feel the tangible effects of innovations such as the mobile phone or the self check-in facilities at the airport. As a result, almost without reservation, people accept that being innovative is the most important pathway for individuals, firms and nations to achieve continued prosperity. Although people tend to simplify the relationship between innovation and prosperity, our quibble is not with this conventional wisdom but with a more fundamental issue: what actually is innovation and how do we measure it?