From creativity to innovation

Talent is the bedrock of a creative society. Encouraging and developing talent involves mobilizing culture and tradition, building institutions to increase the stock of human capital, enhancing its quality, and instilling values that favor achievements and initiative. The productivity that emerges from this talent, in the form of ideas, can be increased by nurturing wikicapital—the capital arising from networks. Translating creativity into innovation is a function of multiple incentives, and sustaining innovation is inseparable from heavy investment in research. Ultimately, the transition from innovation to commercially viable products requires the midwifery of many service providers and the entrepreneurial skills of firms small and large. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.