“INNOVATIONS ARE AS GOOD AS THE SOCIETY THAT WORKS WITH THEM”

WHY ARE INNOVATIONS SO IMPORTANT? DO WE EVEN NEED THEM – AND WHAT FOR?

Rüdiger Haum: Innovations are important because they can contribute significantly to economic growth and to improving our quality of life. In some cases, innovations can also solve problems, such as filters for cleaning water.

ARE THERE INNOVATIONS THAT BENEFIT EVERYONE?

Haum: If the economy grows through innovation, this is something that should benefit everyone. However, we’ve learned by now that, in the absence of state intervention, social inequality increases despite economic growth. In addition, there have also been innovations that protect the environment or cure human diseases.

HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE MORE INNOVATIONS THAT BENEFIT EVERYONE?

Haum: A first step is for a society to agree democratically on the objectives that will be of benefit to everyone. Once this has taken place, governments, in cooperation with those affected, must support the identified goals by means of appropriate laws and regulations and by providing the necessary resources. In its research, the scientific community should orient itself towards these goals in much the same way that companies behave when developing new business models. And we as consumers must make an effort to accept these innovations, while making sure that they’re in line with the objectives set by society.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR PEOPLE TO ACCEPT AN INNOVATION?

Haum: In abstract terms, innovations must offer a relative advantage over comparable alternatives. They must therefore be cheaper or better suited to serve a specific purpose or satisfy a certain need. In addition, users need to be aware of an innovation and must understand it in order to use it.

SOMETIMES, HOWEVER, INNOVATIONS AREN’T SUCCESSFUL, EVEN THOUGH THEY MAKE SENSE. FOR EXAMPLE, WHY WAS THE ELECTRIC CAR NOT A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS BACK IN 1900?

Haum: Often, different technologies compete with one another to fulfil the same purpose – as was the case back in the days when different types of engine were developed to drive the brand-new automobile. Petrol engines became generally accepted because they were easier to handle by means of a starter motor and had a longer range. Side effects – such as noise and harmful exhaust fumes – were willingly accepted.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: HEROIN WAS INITIALLY CONSIDERED WONDERFUL, BEFORE COMING TO BE VIEWED QUITE DIFFERENTLY.

Haum: In the absence of government regulations, companies often don’t care about the undesirable side effects of their products. The fact that during the drug approval process we strictly regulate the investigation of side effects is partly the result of medical disasters caused by drugs such as thalidomide or even heroin. If regulated procedures are in place for testing innovations, companies sometimes try to influence those procedures in the hope of playing down possible risks. The most recent example is the covert financing of studies on the pesticide glyphosate by its manufacturing company Monsanto.

HOW CAN WE ASSESS THE DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF INNOVATIONS?

Haum: There are various procedures for enabling a technology impact assessment. The closer a product comes to entering the market, and the more concrete its properties become, the better we’re able to estimate its likely consequences. The most complex procedures for technology impact assessment are the approval procedures required for pharmaceutical products. But they don’t cover all the dimensions of possible effects either. For example, when the contraceptive pill was introduced, nobody asked what would happen if masses of artificial female hormones ended up in our rivers. Well, scientists have noticed recently that fish are changing sex. However, for many industries and products there are no prescribed procedures when it comes to technology impact assessment.

WHAT MUST HAPPEN FOR AN INNOVATIVE IDEA TO BE IMPLEMENTED?

Haum: A lot, because innovation processes are often extremely complex when it comes down to details. Basically, a company needs new knowledge, or an idea, to turn it into a new product or service. Following this, the innovation must be cleared to enter the market, where it then needs to meet demand.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR AN INNOVATIVE IDEA TO BE IMPLEMENTED?

Haum: Sometimes, it can take 30 or 40 years for an idea developed at a university to be turned into a product. The innovation rates also vary from sector to sector. What’s more, the following applies: the more radical the innovation, the longer the period of development. For example, it took a very long time for mobile phones to be accepted as an alternative to fixed-line phones. Today, we see new models entering the market every year.

WHAT DISTINGUISHES A “MINOR” INNOVATION FROM A “MAJOR” ONE?

Haum: We speak of a major or radical innovation when one technology replaces another – for example, steam navigation replacing sailing ships. Minor or incremental innovations, by contrast, are changes within the existing technology, for instance, the development of more powerful engines for steamers. Moreover, innovation researchers speak of new techno-economic paradigms. These are new technologies that bring about change in virtually all sectors of the economy and society, while at the same time boosting economic growth through productivity gains. Examples in this regard are electricity and oil. Lately, digitisation seems to be establishing itself as a new techno-economic paradigm.

AT WHAT POINT DO WE KNOW WHETHER AN INNOVATION IS TRULY RADICAL?

Haum: You can have a feel for it with a lot of experience and with the help of technology impact assessment. Certainty only ever comes with hindsight, that is, once an innovation has actually been put into effect in a broad range of applications and has brought about changes.

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A BAD OR DANGEROUS INVENTION?

Haum: All innovations are as good or as bad as the society that works with them. In technical jargon, this is called having a “dual-use character” – nitrogen, for example, can be used to produce both fertiliser and explosives. Societies can, however, agree to refrain from using certain applications of technologies, as is the case for instance with genetic engineering in the EU. Whether this is good or bad is ultimately a matter of opinion.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE CURRENTLY VERY INNOVATIVE?

Haum: Western industrialised countries are among the most innovative countries. These include Switzerland, Sweden, the USA, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Finland, Denmark and Germany. Singapore and Israel are similarly innovative.

WHAT ARE THESE COUNTRIES DOING BETTER THAN OTHERS?

Haum: Roughly speaking, they have reliable administrations, high expenditure on research and development, and good education systems, as well as active flows of knowledge between researchers, companies and users of technologies.

HOW ARE INNOVATIONS SHARED BETWEEN COUNTRIES? ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS?

Haum: Innovations usually belong to the manufacturing companies and are protected by intellectual property rights. They get to other countries when local companies buy the rights to use or produce the innovation, or when the owning company decides itself to do business in another country. Official restrictions are in place in those fields of technology that states regard as sensitive, such as weapons or certain communication systems. The dissemination of technology is limited in reality because many companies view dissemination as something that causes them to lose their competitiveness.