Antwerp Management School

In episode 3, host Frédérique Van der Heyden discussed the topics of Entrepreneurship and Innovation with expert Gunter Loos, practitioner Peter Daels and student Toon Chaerle. In this podcast, the guests discussed the role of both the employee and the organization in driving innovation. It was highlighted that HR has a significant role in facilitating innovation and entrepreneurship by creating an organizational culture that encourages and supports employees to develop and implement their ideas.

However, the guests concluded that it was eventually up to individuals to keep innovation alive within the organization. In terms of innovation, every organization must have a long-term vision and should be prepared to continuously innovate their processes, services, and products to remain competitive.

The importance of entrepreneurship, which is a human quality, was also pointed out as being equally important as innovation in exploring new opportunities and developing new products or services. As a result, the guests came to the agreement that HR plays an essential role in innovation and that HR practitioners within organizations should be able to identify individuals with innovative talents, for instance people with a strong entrepreneurial mindset or skills and develop them to drive innovation within the organization.

Finally, the impact of age on innovation was also discussed, highlighting that the younger generation may have an advantage with their knowledge and experience of digital tools. However, this does not mean that older generations are not capable of innovation, but it is up to the organization to create an optimal environment in which innovation is nurtured amongst all members of every generation.