Innovation, Creativity, and the Indian Context

Innovation, Creativity, and the Indian Context

Creativity and innovation are fundamental concepts in management and entrepreneurship. Creativity refers to the generation of new and useful ideas, while innovation involves applying these ideas to create value. Creativity focuses on thinking and imagination, whereas innovation emphasizes action and implementation. Both are essential for improving organizational performance and competitiveness. MBA students must learn how to convert creative ideas into innovative outcomes.

Innovation and Creativity

Creativity involves divergent thinking, where individuals explore multiple ideas and possibilities. Innovation requires convergent thinking, which selects and implements the most feasible ideas. Creativity mainly contributes to idea generation, while innovation leads to products, services, or process improvements. Creative teams focus on brainstorming, whereas innovative teams emphasize testing, prototyping, and scaling. Amabile’s model explains that creativity results from the interaction of expertise, creativity skills, and intrinsic motivation, which together support innovation (Amabile, 1996).

Key Differences Between Creativity and Innovation

• Creativity focuses on idea generation, while innovation focuses on implementation.
• Creativity produces concepts, whereas innovation delivers marketable outcomes.
• Creativity is often individual or team-based, while innovation requires organizational support.
• Creativity may not create revenue directly, but innovation contributes to economic value.

Innovation in the Indian Context

Innovation in India has emerged largely in response to resource constraints and social needs. This has encouraged frugal innovation, where solutions are designed to be low-cost and accessible. Government initiatives such as Startup India and Atmanirbhar Bharat have strengthened the startup ecosystem. Policy reforms like NEP 2020 also promote innovation and entrepreneurship in management education.

• Sectoral Highlights of Indian Innovation
• Frugal Innovation: Affordable solutions developed for large populations.
• Grassroots Innovation: Social enterprises such as Aravind Eye Care deliver low-cost services.
• Policy Support: Education and startup policies encourage entrepreneurial skills.

Jugaad and Innovation

Jugaad refers to improvised problem-solving using limited resources. It reflects flexibility and creativity but often lacks safety and scalability. Jugaad solutions are useful in the short term but may not support long-term growth. Scholars suggest that Jugaad should evolve into structured innovation systems (Radjou et al., 2012).

Evolution from Jugaad to Structured Innovation

Indian innovation has gradually shifted from informal Jugaad to organized and scalable models. Examples include low-cost technologies developed for healthcare and manufacturing. Indian firms have also created globally competitive products by combining affordability with quality. This shift represents a balanced approach that integrates cost efficiency, scalability, and sustainability.