The love of inventing from veblen to amabile: A look at the construct "inventor/innovator" from the era of edison to today's corporate R & D scientist

Abstract

Large firms having a desire to achieve disruptive innovation will need to rely on the inventive, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the "hired" inventors, they employ to do such research. This report traces the roots and evolution of the construct "invent or/innovator" from the time of the heroic individual inventor in the late 1800s untill today within the context of the emergence of the corporate R & D institution. Understanding, the motivations and characteristics of the early "heroic" individual inventor as well as the evolving nature of the R & D management institution in large firms might chart a path to creating a better corporate environment for radical innovation (and better commercial results). Characteristics observed over one hundred years ago, align well with the current theories of the best way to enhance corporate employee creativity, leading to higher innovation rates for example what, Veblen called "the instinct of workmanship" parallels closely to what Amabile cites as"intrinsic motivation".