Innovation – a Major Requirement for the Sustainable Development of Organizations

The current economy is characterized by the acceleration of change and the orientation of people towards everything that is new. Innovation is considered a key element of the competitiveness of organizations in the contemporary economy and it has therefore been given increasing attention by both researchers and practitioners. Within an organization, innovation can be expressed by renewing products, technologies and processes, but also by changing business ideas and models. One of the purposes of this article is to provide a state-of-the-art overview about the existing literature on organizational innovation. The second aim of the research is to shed light upon the role of innovation in economic affairs in our days, in order to ensure the sustainable development of organizations. The research was done by consulting major research databases (Elsevier, ResearchGate, Science Direct, ProQuest) and analyzing key journal articles bibliographically and thematically. Results show that it is widely recognized that technological change and innovation are major drivers of economic growth and they are regarded as a survival factor but there are also some indications that in some areas it becomes more difficult to innovate for some organizations. The studies highlight that in some markets there is a concern on the part of customers about the possible harmful effects on the environment if innovation is too aggressive.