Redundant, Overlapping Organization: A Japanese Approach to Managing the Innovation Process

Innovation is not simply accepting a given problem or task and solving it in a methodical, reductionist manner. Rather, innovation is an and knowledgecreative process that is realized through the generation and definition of the problem or task to be solved. Research on the innovation process in Japanese organizations has shown that these and knowledge-creating characteristics are, to a large degree, a product of what can be termed information redundancy. Information redundancy refers to a condition where various types of excess or supplemental are shared among a group in addition to the minimal amount of requisite each individual, department, or organization holds as necessary to perform assigned, specialized functions.