The importance of innovation for companies

The term "Innovation" is one of those concepts that you hear about more and more frequently. Literally, "innovation" means "novelty", "renewal" and etymologically the word derives from the Latin "novus" (new) and "innovatio" (equivalent of "something new").

To all intents and purposes, however, it is used as a synonym of "new idea" and "invention, but its meaning in this sense dates back to the early years of the last century. In fact, the economist Joseph Schumpeter was the first to use the concept of "innovation" in the economic field, in 1911, in his "Theory of economic development". Schumpeter thus described the concept: "the imposition of a technical or organizational change also because of its invention".
Today, it is now established that, as for SMEs, innovation is indispensable for survival and not just an exercise that is an end in itself. It allows them to gain a competitive advantage through products, processes or services aimed at the future or just innovative.
Thanks to the innovations, unlike the small daily improvements, the companies remove the entrance ticket that allows them to access the markets of tomorrow. An innovation increases the attractiveness of the assortment and the offer, enhances the "parent" company compared to the competition.
A successful innovation is when, starting from a problem, from a request from a client, from the search for an opportunity or even from a sudden idea, we promote and realize something new, and once this innovation is realized, it is also accepted by the market.
The advantages that innovation can bring to companies are the consolidation and strengthening of a position on the market, a differentiation with respect to competitors, an increase in profits and returns and an increase in the company's economic growth.
The Tecnopolo di Rimini, through the Interdepartmental Centers of Industrial Research of the University of Bologna, is available to companies wishing to invest in research and innovation for a strong growth in competitiveness.