Entrepreneurship: Innovation and the Creative Pursuit of Ideas

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Chapter 5: Innovation and the Creative Pursuit of Ideas from Donald F. Kuratko's Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice (12th Edition).

Opportunity Identification

The process of finding a problem or need that a business can solve, centered around answering the questions of why, when, and how.

Opportunity (vs. Idea)

A concept from which an entrepreneur can extract value and that possesses commercial potential to turn into a viable business, distinguishing it from an everyday idea.

Creativity

The ability to use imagination to come up with original ideas, enabling entrepreneurs to differentiate their businesses from competitors so customers take notice.

Invention

Discovering or creating something totally new—whether a product, service, or process—that did not exist previously.

Innovation

Finding a new way to do something or improving upon an existing product or service.

Preparation (Wallas' Creative Process)

The first stage of Graham Wallas's four-stage creative process, focused on understanding a problem by examining it from a variety of perspectives.

Incubation (Wallas' Creative Process)

The second stage of Graham Wallas's creative process, during which the individual lets the problem lie in the subconscious for a period of time.

Illumination (Wallas' Creative Process)

The third stage in Graham Wallas's creative process, characterized by the discovery of a solution.

Verification (Wallas' Creative Process)

The fourth stage of Graham Wallas's creative process, involving testing and bringing the discovered idea into a concrete outcome.

Seven Stages of the Creative Process (Norman Seeff)

A creative progression framework consisting of: 1) Hearing the call, 2) Fear and resistance, 3) Resolution, 4) Turning Point, 5) Creation, 6) Manifestation, and 7) Fulfillment.

External Barriers to Creativity

Outside roadblocks that impede creative thought, such as interruptions and distractions (calls, meetings, messages), time pressure, excessive rules, and criticism.

Personal Barriers to Creativity

Internal obstacles that inhibit creative thinking, specifically seeking others' approval, lack of confidence, and overplanning.

Brainwriting

A form of brainstorming used to ensure all team members feel comfortable contributing by writing down ideas, organizing them into themes, and combining concepts that do not usually go together.

Visualization

The ability to paint a picture of concepts using graphics and words in order to reveal patterns within large collections of generated ideas.

Journey Mapping

A tool that depicts all touchpoints a company shares with a customer, tracing steps from awareness of need, search, selection, and purchasing through to use, servicing, and final disposal.

Root-Cause Analysis

A problem-solving technique of repeatedly asking 'Why?' to move beyond surface symptoms and pinpoint the underlying cause that can be directly addressed.

Unexpected Occurrences

Unplanned or unanticipated successes or failures that serve as major catalysts of innovation, such as COVID-19 driving demand for delivery services, masks, and sanitizers.

Gaps / Unmet Needs

A source of innovation stemming from discrepancies between customer expectations and current market reality, exemplified by Fred Smith founding FedEx to solve slow three-day postal delivery.

Need for Improvement

Marketplace process needs referred to by venture capitalists as 'pain,' which drive innovative solutions ('painkillers') like medical devices, healthier foods, or time-saving devices.

Industry and Market Changes

Emerging opportunities driven by shifts in consumer attitudes, technological progress, or market structure, such as healthcare transitioning toward at-home care and preventive medicine.

Demographic Changes

Shifts in population size, age, education, occupation, or location that spur entrepreneurial opportunities, such as an influx of retirees into Florida and Arizona benefiting healthcare and land development.

Perceptual Changes

Intangible shifts in how consumers interpret facts and concepts, such as a desire for healthy living spurring fitness apps and gyms, or travel desires driving vacation clubs.

Knowledge-Based Concepts

Inventions derived from new thinking, methods, and knowledge that often take the longest time from inception to market launch due to extensive testing and refinement requirements.

Extension (Type of Innovation)

A type of innovation defined as the expansion, new use, or different application of an already existing product, service, or process (e.g., Ray Kroc with McDonald's, Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook).

Duplication (Type of Innovation)

A type of innovation involving the creative replication of an existing business concept with modifications or improvements (e.g., Walmart with department stores, Pizza Hut with pizza parlors).

Synthesis (Type of Innovation)

A type of innovation characterized by the combination of existing concepts and factors into a completely new formulation or application (e.g., Fred Smith with FedEx, Howard Schultz with Starbucks).