Integrated Model of Innovative Competence

This conceptual article contributes to understanding of individual innovative competence by providing a comprehensive view of the concept, integrating different theories from innovation management into one model and linking it to the theory from studies of competence, where Illeris (2013) competence model is taken as the base. The contribution of this article is to fill the gap in existing innovation management theory where most researchers focus only on specific dimensions of innovative competence. The proposed integrated model of innovative competence was developed based on a systematic literature review, using the ISI Web of Knowledge database for Social Science domain between 1980-2016, and different combinations of words “individual” and “innovation” with terms “competence”, “behavior”, “skill”, “attitude” and “trait”, as search words. It shows how individuals need to combine different knowledge, personality traits, functional and interactive skills to demonstrate innovative behavior in practice. There is a certain ambidexterity or two-sidedness in the elements of innovative competence that enables individual to move between exploration of opportunities and generation of ideas on one hand, and implementation and exploitation of ideas on the other. The model can be used in different ways, both in teaching and in organizations. Teachers can use it as a reflection tool to increase understanding of innovative competence among students, but also as the basis for developing practice-based curriculum for strengthening innovative competence among students. Organizations can use the model both as a support in recruiting innovative talent, assessing and developing innovation as a core competence among employees, and when forming innovative teams.