Genealogy of innovation through an integrative literature review

Abstract

Innovation is a multidimensional phenomenon that depends both on the generation of new and appropriate ideas and on the ability to transform them into solutions that create value. This paper proposes a conceptual genealogy of innovation structured around two fundamental elements: creativity and entrepreneurship. Creativity is understood as responsible for generating original and useful possibilities, with imagination and permission to create as its antecedents. Entrepreneurship, in turn, refers to the mobilization of resources and the action required to transform possibilities into outcomes, with opportunity and motivation as its antecedents. The study employs an exploratory literature review, supported by generative artificial intelligence in the formulation of search strategies, the initial identification of publications, and the thematic organization of literature. Selection, reading, validation of references, and conceptual interpretation remained under human responsibility. The proposed genealogy offers an integrative model to understand, diagnose, and foster innovation, although its relationships should be examined in future empirical studies.