Innovations could come from many sources including those from people working in sectors that are unrelated to the area of encompassing the innovation. This means that any person in the society is a potential innovator (Sundbo, 1998). However, the individual should be interested in solving a particular problem that exists in the society. Innovations can also be from institutions such as universities and other sectors such as laboratories and NGOs. In today’s world however the main source of innovation comes from business organisations (Stamm, 2008) . This can be attributed by the constant demand of new innovations by consumers as well as the high level of management that has encouraged innovativeness.
Sources of innovations. Individuals can be a source of innovation. Today organisations are the main sources of innovations; this is not to say that individuals do not offer much in terms of innovations. In fact it is the individuals in the organisations that come up with these ideas which are then adopted by the organisations (Sundbo, 1998). The organisations then go ahead to patent these ideas Therefore individual participation is vital in the organisation’s innovation.
There are various individual qualities that enable people to be innovative these includes looking at things from a non conventional perspective and the ability to determine which ideas to pursue or discard. For one to sell his innovations he should be able to communicate his ideas with others. This is because it is through effective communication that the rest can understand and adopt the ideas (Sundbo, 1998). Knowledge of the subject area is not a requirement in innovation, well educated people in certain areas tend to follow the existing laws, paradigms and aspects that they already know. However, the less informed people may be able to think on a different perspective because they may understand the particular issue better. Therefore little knowledge in the area is adequate for innovations. Innovative people need to be effective. This is easy to achieve because they usually pursue ideas that lie in their particular areas of interest (Stamm, 2008). However they need to display self efficacy.
Factors that enabled Iddan pioneer the innovation of wireless endoscopy. When Iddan befriended Dr Scapa he was not aware what Scapa had problems relating to viewing the human digestive tract. Scapa and Iddan shared their career experiences together. Iddan at this time was on a sabbatical leave. Scapa was able to inform Iddan about his efforts to develop an effective tool for carrying out endoscopy. Aden was interested in the idea because he was working on a slightly related issue but in a different project involving creation of missiles. The project Iddan was working on involved creation of the eye of a guided missile. This missile was supposed to identify its target. Similarly, Scapa was developing technology that would enable him locate his target (Human digestive system) with a purpose of bringing back images which can be used for medical purposes. Therefore the link in the two ideas made Iddan get interested in the project. Scapa however did not have the technical ability to experiment his ideas. Dr Scapa then requested Iddan to come up with a solution to this. Iddan was able to link the ideas from his eye guided missile project with those of Dr Scapa to come up with a CCD camera. It is important to identify the link between the two ideas. Iddan was informed about the body biological processes such as peristalsis by Dr. Scapa which he was not well versed with before. Both technologies i.e. the guided missile and endoscopic camera required the use of an “eye” to help them perform their functions.
Persistence requests from Scapa. Scapa had explained to Iddan the importance of developing an endoscopic camera to enable the viewing of the body’s digestive system. Scapa informed Iddan on the necessity of the project by citing that it would enable the doctor view a patient’s digestive system. He also informed Iddan on the progress that had been made and the limitations that of the technologies that were in use at the time. Among other thing Scapa noted that this technology was not efficient in viewing of the small intestines, Scapa went ahead to inform Iddan how the technology would be utilised and its need in the medical world. Scapa then requested Iddan to try and come up with something that would enable intestinal viewing become a reality. Iddan then left and went back to Israel and did nothing on the project for ten years. After this period he returned back to the US where he visited his old friend Scapa. Scapa asked him whether he had succeeded in developing technology that would make it possible to view the small intestine. However, Iddan had done nothing tangible on this. It is the persistent inquisition of Scapa about Iddan’s progress on the subject that led Iddan to becoming more interested in the subject. Scapa had previously informed Iddan on the benefits the technology would bring to the medical world.
Self-efficacy.
Iddan demonstrated the ability to be effective on his own. He was able to develop a very small CCD camera which he tested using a chicken. Iddan however encountered problems with the gadgets battery life. He then went ahead to develop a longer lasting battery for the device. Through this we can see that he was effective in his endeavours.
Willingness to overcome obstacles.
Iddan did not have any medical background to necessitate him understand the anatomy of human beings. This was a clear obstacle, however with the little knowledge he had acquired from Scapa Iddan was able to understand biological processes such as Peristalsis and continue with the project.
Willingness to take reasonable risk,
Iddan had a promising job which he risked in the attempt to develop the endoscopic camera. He was not guaranteed if this would work. However he decided to go for it and he was successful at the end. But the end result clearly shows the risk was worth it.
Self-motivated.
Iddan was self motivated. Dr Scapa initially motivated Iddan to do the project. However from subsequent activities we can see that he did not need anybody’s motivation to carry out the task.
Science-push versus demand-pull
Science push innovation refers to innovation that is generated from organisations or individuals without evaluation whether the technology is needed by the target consumers. There is no need for conducting research whether the technology will be accepted and need by the target consumers. On the other hand demands pull innovation considers whether the technology is needed by the target user. This innovation is driven by the user demand. The technology usually ends up being assimilated by the users
In our case study there is a dilemma in deciding if the innovation was science push or demand pull driven. First, Scapa informs Iddan on that there was an existing technology used for viewing the interior of the small intestines lining. He noted that these technologies were not very effective because they could not be effectively view the small intestines. Examples included the use of a tube called the endoscope with a camera attached on one end and surgery which was quiet impractical because it is hard to know which part of the intestine is affected. On the other hand x rays do not enable the physician view the interior of the intestines. Applitec ltd which was run by Gabriel Meron was already manufacturing and selling endoscopic cameras. This shows that there was supplemental technology that could be used to view the small intestine. Therefore one to some extent could justify that indeed the innovation was science pushed. However the more convincing of the two is that the technology was demand pushed. In his teachings to Iddan, Scapa explained that there were numerous serious disorders that were associated with the small intestines. These disorders include; bleeding, chronic, diarrhoea, crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, small bowel cancer and celiac cancer. Scapa also noted that the current technology which was known as the endoscope was inappropriate because it could only view the first third of the small intestines and was quite uncomfortable for the patient. Other technologies that were in existence at the time which included the use of x-rays and the surgery were inappropriate or non functional. This showed that the patient population desperately needed new technology that could be used to diagnose these medical problems. It was estimated at the time 19 million people suffer from suffer from small intestine disorders which shows there was a great demand for these services. In addition to this different scientist in different parts of the world were seeking better technologies for diagnosing the digestive tract problems. An example is the researchers in the UK and Israel. Therefore the need for wireless endoscopy was being sort for by different people who saw the need for a solution to diagnosing intestinal diseases.
Therefore it is clear that this innovation was demand push and not science push. There was a problem that was being experienced by the users and desperately needed a solution to check these problems. May be for Iddan the goal of his research could be science pushed but this is not the case for Given and certainly not the case for Scapa the ideas initiator. Therefore we can conclude that this innovation was demand pushed.