Social, Organisational and Technological Innovation
Innovation research at the IAT analyses innovations in distinct sectors and spatial contexts. Following a broad understanding of innovation, subject of research are social, organisation as well as technological innovations, which are frequently also integral part of all innovation processes. The spectrum of methods applied ranges from secondary data analysis, for example, in form of patent analysis, to process-oriented, quantitative and qualitative survey (e.g. Innovation Biographies). Innovation stakeholders, networks and innovation systems, drivers and barriers of innovation (diffusion) processes, the role of sectorial and spatial contexts are of central interest, just as governance structures and new business models.
The public debate on "luxury articles" in the form of "smartphones" owned by e.g. the group of Syrian refugees (see, for example the German Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11th August 2015), which caused a misunderstanding in certain population groups of the receiving countries, can be put forward by counter-arguments, which debate that smartphones are the "new fast window" to the outside world of the target group.
The main target of our work is to strengthen the performance and innovation capacity of the health and healthcare industry. Quality of life, employment and growth should to be increased by improved and new services and products.
Technological, economic and social change is reconfiguring industries and markets: Challenges such climate change, the ageing of society, scarcity of resources, accelerating information and communication technologies that require new solutions.
A spatial perspective is the starting point for many ongoing projects at the Institute for Work and Technology. Functional and social spaces provide the analytical framework for the analysis of actor constellations, networks and clusters, as well as of spatial perceptions and cultures, which cannot be found in politically or administratively defined regions.
Work and economic research deal with the question of whether and how working environments change in their structures, processes and relationships. This includes the impact of new technologies but also the interplay/interaction of qualification and organization of work.
