Dark side of innovation

"Everybody supports innovation, as long as it does not mean change". This is a quote I once heard and pretty much describes the phenomenon. Everybody loves the concept of innovation, nobody can be against it. That is why it is so popular among policy makers: strive for something everybody wants. But innovation always also means change. And not always people like change. See the topic of resistance that is discussed widely in innovation management: how do you fight of cope with the initial resistance against a new idea or innovation within a company. From the perspective of innovation management literature, people who initially fight change in a organisation do this out of fear, defending the status-quo and an attempt to keep their privileges and their current level of control. One part of people fighting against change and technological progress within organisations are described as Luddites . The challenges of managers and policy makers is often formulated as overcoming this resistance for the public wellbeing.

But let us look a bit deeper into that fear of change. What if technological progress or the new innovation does mean loss of jobs or loosing power? The introduction of the car factory producing T-fords meant more employment against a higher salary for many people, but it also meant the introduction of Taylorism: a very dull repetitive and relatively low responsible work. The concept of organisational innovation that includes outsourcing leads to the closing of many factories in US and Europe. The innovation of direct online booking of flights, cars and hotels has lead to the decay of the travel agencies. How to explain to a now unemployed person that innovation is a good thing for all? Part of the savings a car manufacturer can make by closing a factory in Europe and opening a new one in China will go to the people who close the deal and make it happen. But how to explain to the unemployed workers that some people get big bonuses for getting you laid off?

Do I still have to explain financial innovations to show the possible negative impact that innovation can create? What about computer viruses, online crime and identity theft, more powerful weapons and the possibilities of bio-terror?

The truth is that innovation always means change. And when change happens some people win and some loose. It does not have to be a zero-sum game, but there are almost always people who will loose. Accept & acknowledge that and try to see if that is a reason not to innovate or not