Innovation in the Anthropological Perspective

Julia C. Gluesing is a business and organizational anthropologist and Research Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Wayne State University. Christine Miller is a professor at Savannah College of Art and Design working at the intersection of the social sciences, design, and business. Helga Wild works in product development and research for Summery Inc. and runs a research consultancy.

"Anyone with a professional stake in innovation will do well to reflect on the systematic insights offered here about the complex cultural and organizational scaffolding on which incremental changes pile up and lead to transformational disruptions. A wide range of cases tackle the emergence of products and services we now take for granted, from bicycles to digital paywalls and public health campaigns." —Ed Liebow, PhD, Affiliate Associate Professor, Recent Executive Director of the American Anthropological Association"This book is a welcome addition to the scientific literature on innovation, filling a significant gap in the ethnographic record. Written in the classic traditions of cultural anthropology, Innovation uses "participant observation" (first-hand experience) and a holistic perspective that are the hallmarks of the anthropological study of society." —Richard L. Currier, PhD, author of UNBOUND: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human"Gluesing, Miller, and Wild masterfully merge theoretical insights with practical applications. The book uniquely balances deep conceptual understanding with illustrative case studies, offering valuable perspectives for both business leaders and anthropologists. It cuts through the usual innovation hype with critical analyses and provides actionable design principles. Essential reading for those seeking a comprehensive and grounded approach to innovation." —Matt Artz, founder of Azimuth Labs and host of the Anthropology in Business podcast

• Lists of figures and tablesForeword1 Introduction1.1 A meeting of minds1.2 Who we are1.3 Why we wrote this book1.4 Who the book is for1.5 How the book is organized1.6 How this book can be used to advantage2 Innovation lenses2.1 Innovation lenses2.2 Lens 1: Innovation, discovery and invention2.3 Lens 2: Innovation, stability and disruption2.4 Lens 3: Innovation, creation and transmission2.5 Lens 4: Innovation and design3 Anthropological perspective3.1 Concept of culture3.2 Structure and agency3.3 Complementary concepts: systems, networks, and complexity3.4 Design and anthropology3.5 Our methodological approach4 Ethnographic methods and analyses4.1 On ethnographic methods4.2 Data analysis process and tools4.3 Gathering stories4.4 Analysis and findings in ATLAS.ti5 The innovation chronicles5.1 Women and bicycles5.2 A conservation effort in Papua New Guinea5.3 A health campaign in Peru5.4 Nomads in the 21st century5.5 The Leatherman5.6 Internet shopping in China5.7 Rapid change and disruption: hacking a Stone Age society5.8 Alexander Hamilton5.9 A scrapyard in Ghana: innovating the re-use of waste in Ghana5.10 Innovation in tightly coupled systems5.11 The invention of modern soap5.12 A World Bank development effort in Kenya5.13 A geospatial nervous system5.14 Implementing a digital paywall at the New York Times5.15 The development of precision machinery and the transformation of human affairs5.16 Summing up6 Putting it all together6.1 Insights about innovation and innovating6.2 Situating insights innovation and innovating6.3 Linguistic evidence6.4 The emerging picture6.5 Towards a more holistic picture of innovation7 Operationalizing design for innovation7.1 Abductive reasoning7.2 Design theory/ design principles7.3 Heuristic design principles and their application7.4 Principles are guidelines for design for innovating8 Concluding thoughtsNotesReferencesAppendicesIndex