On the Epistemology of Breakthrough Innovation: The Orthogonal and Non-linear Natures of Discovery

One of the most important roles of researchers in technology-based companies is to develop innovative new products and processes to either increase revenue or decrease cost. However, while some have begun to consider how engineers and scientists “know,” most practitioners and researchers of corporate innovation carry unarticulated, less-than-fully-developed assumptions about this topic. In the present work, we gain insight into the orthogonal (“know what” ) and non-linear (“know how” ) natures of the epistemology of breakthrough innovation by reflecting on both the characteristics of those who innovate and the characteristics of how breakthrough innovation actually occurs.