The creation and management of innovations in healthcare and ICT – the European and African experience

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to gain new insights into innovation systems by comparing state-of-the-art of existing approaches of innovation creation and innovation management in healthcare and ICT. It is unique, in that it compares countries in Africa with countries in Europe in order to identify similarities and differences regarding the creation and management of innovations. The main similarity is that early dialogue between different stakeholders was underrepresented during the whole innovation process in all countries. Our results also indicated that the various stakeholders often work in silos. The main difference was that the countries face problems at different stages of the innovation process. Whereas European countries face more problems in the innovation creation process, African countries experience difficulty sustaining and managing innovation. To overcome barriers, we suggest the application of systematic early dialogue between all key stakeholders.