Soft innovation: completing the portrait of the dynamic economy
Researcher:
Professor Paul Stoneman, Warwick Business School
Year published:
October 2007 (First working paper); March 2008 (Second working paper)
Download:
First working paper: An introduction to the definition and measuremetn of soft innovation 221kb
Second working paper: Soft innovation in creative and non-creative industries 379 kb
Description
This research will examine 'soft innovation' - a form of innovation that has previously been largely ignored in policy literature and discussions. Soft innovation involves changes in products, which are concerned with sensory perception and aesthetic rather than functional appeal. It occurs in the cultural sector, but is also a characteristic of other sectors of the economy.
This research will suggest alternative indicators to analyse this activity, which standard measures of innovation, such as R&D expenditure and patent counts, do not capture.
The research will also explore how the tools and techniques, commonly used in the mainstream analysis of innovation, may be used to explore issues such as: the extent that this innovation is modelled as an economic process; the role of intellectual property in soft innovation and how this differs from other types of innovation; the diffusion of soft innovations; the impact of soft innovations; and the policy implications of the findings.