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Sources of Ideas for Innovation in Engineering Design

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Abstract

This paper explores the sources of ideas for innovation in engineering design. The paper shows that engineering designers involved in complex, non-routine design processes rely heavily on face-to-face conversations with other designers for solving problems and developing new innovative ideas. The research is based on a case study and survey of designers from Ove Arup & Partners, a leading international engineering consultancy. We examine the role of different mechanisms for learning about new designs, the motivations of designers, problem solving and limits to designers' ability to innovative. We explore how the project-based nature of the construction sector shapes the ways in which designers develop new ideas and solve problems. We suggest that among the population of designers in Arup, there are a number of different design strategies for innovating and that these can have important implications for how design is managed. We locate our approach in the research on innovation in project-based firms, outlining patterns of innovation in firms that survive on the basis of their success in winning and managing projects.

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  • Ammon Salter & David Gann, 2001. "Sources of Ideas for Innovation in Engineering Design," SPRU Working Paper Series 74, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:sru:ssewps:74
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Klevorick, Alvin K. & Levin, Richard C. & Nelson, Richard R. & Winter, Sidney G., 1995. "On the sources and significance of interindustry differences in technological opportunities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 185-205, March.
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    3. Gann, David M. & Salter, Ammon J., 2000. "Innovation in project-based, service-enhanced firms: the construction of complex products and systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 955-972, August.
    4. D'Adderio, Luciana, 2001. "Crafting the virtual prototype: how firms integrate knowledge and capabilities across organisational boundaries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1409-1424, December.
    5. Nightingale, Paul, 1998. "A cognitive model of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 689-709, November.
    6. David M. Gann & Ammon Salter, 1998. "Learning and Innovation Management in Project-Based, Service-Enhanced Firms," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(04), pages 431-454.
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    Cited by:

    1. Erik Baark, 2005. "New Modes of Learning in Services: A Study of Hong Kong's Consulting Engineers," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 283-301.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    engineering design; innovation; tacit knowledge; project-based firms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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