The Generative Diffusion of Innovation

Generative theory challenges assumptions of the status quo, opens the world to new possibilities, and is frequently associated developmentally with a deep and caring concern for establishing and guiding the next generation. With emphasis on “opening the world to new possibilities” and “intergenerational transmission” might there be a useful exploration between the domains of generativity and the vast interest and literature on “the diffusion of innovation?” In this chapter, we develop the concept of generative diffusion of organizational innovation – how extraordinary, even revolutionary, new business organizations can have generative impact around the world while at the same time never coming to be wholly replicated in exactly the same way.