Innovation: A Strategic Option For Future Economic Growth

The purpose of the current article is that of highlighting the importance and actuality of innovation in spurring economic growth. This empirical study analyses the concept of innovation and suggests it as a viable strategic option for increasing productivity and performance and for fostering a sustainable economic growth, especially in the current context, in which even the more developed countries took a big hit from the global economic crisis (manifested through an array of negative effects, the most noticeable one being the contraction of the gross domestic product through negative growth rates of the GDP). The results show that any worldwide economy could strongly benefit from boosting economic growth through innovation, and that this subject needs to be treated, not only as a solid solution for overcoming the effects of the economic crisis, but also as a prevention instrument, to make sure that the recession never reaches the degree it has in the past. The global economic crisis, which officially started in 2008, according to many specialists, was mainly caused by the crisis which started in the United States of America, which created a domino effect worldwide. The effects of this crisis created the greatest recession since the Second World War, causing: credit freezes, job loss, bankruptcy, low liquidities, increased unemployment, political and social strains and many other issues in the society. In this situation, in order to “re-launch†the national economies of the affected countries, the best solution is to foster economic growth through innovation, regardless of the type of innovation (managerial/technological/radical/incremental). The central point is to use innovation as a tool/instrument that will hopefully prevent another global economic crisis. That being said, companies, economies and societies need to transform into more knowledge-based ones, thus fostering innovation and providing new ways/methods of acting in a more viable and sustainable manner.