When it comes to innovation, it’s tempting to think that the latest and greatest technologies are required to facilitate the creative process.  New research from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reminds us that this doesn’t have to be the case, and that fairly run-of-the-mill IT can be similarly effective.

The researchers show that standard IT can be pretty useful when it comes to innovation, with a more important element being a workforce that is motivated to master technology and who understand their specific role in the organization.  What’s more, if these employees are recognized for their efforts and encouraged to develop their skills then their innovative output rises yet further.

“What this study reveals is that innovation is found not just by using technology specifically created to support idea-generation,” the researchers say. “Creativity comes from both the tool and the person who uses it.”

Common tech

By common technology, the researchers refer to things such as knowledge management systems, business analytics, and point-of-sale systems, which are commonly used by employees in their day-to-day work.  They set out to explore if these technologies could also help employees to create new ideas as part of a wider innovation process.

They developed a model to explore IT-enabled innovation, and found that if employees are motivated to master information technologies, such as those referenced above, then they can use these standard technologies as  creativity tool, and thus provide organizations with an idea generation platform without requiring new investments.

“An organization can get a lot more value out of their IT technology if they let the right people use them and then support them,” the researchers conclude. “This added value will, in turn, save organizations money because they don’t always have to invest in specialized technology in order for their employees to generate solutions to work-related issues or ideas for improvement in the workplace. You just have to trust your employees to be able to innovate with the technologies you have.”