Culture-driven innovation : acknowledging culture as a knowledge source for innovation : paperbased (cumulative) dissertation

This cumulative dissertation deals with the potential of underexplored cultural sources for innovation. Nowadays, firms recognize an increasing demand for innovation to keep pace with an ever-growing dynamic worldwide competition. Knowledge is one of the most crucial sources and resource, while until now innovation has been foremost driven by technology. But since the last years, we have been witnessing a change from technology's role as a driver of innovation to an enabler of innovation. Innovative products and services increasingly differentiate through emotional qualities and user experience. These experiences are hard to grasp and require alignment in innovation management theory and practice. This work cares about culture in a broader matter as a source for innovation. It investigates the requirements and fundamentals for "culture-driven innovation" by studying where and how to unlock cultural sources. The research questions are the following: What are cultural sources for knowledge and innovation? Where can one find cultural sources and how to tap into them? ...