Innovation through exemptions: building upon the existing creativity of employees

In the literature on continuous improvement and innovation management, the role of employees in the innovation process is thoroughly discussed. A widely accepted starting-point in this literature is that the generation of ideas has to be organised and initiated by the senior management of an organisation. In this paper we develop another method that builds upon the already existing creativity within organisations. Recognising potential, trust, result responsibility and exempting employees from their regular tasks are important features of this method. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.