TY - JOUR A1 - Deckert, Carsten A1 - Scherer, Anke T1 - The Dao of Innovation: What European Innovators Can Learn from Philosophical Daoism T2 - Kindai Management Review N2 - A central question for managers in charge of innovation is to what extent creativity and inno-vation can be controlled and supervised, or whether they just have to be set free and allowed to take shape. In assessing this dilemma the authors conclude that there is a contradiction of action versus inaction on the personal level as well as a contradiction of control versus loss of control on the organizational level. What European innovators can learn from philosophical Daoism is an attitude that allows a process to just develop “naturally” and refrains from prem-ature interference with the intention to permanently be in control. In business structures that judge everything according to its usefulness, i.e. profitability for the company, a look at the laid-back attitude of Daoism where usefulness and uselessness are relative qualities might relief the pressure on people to perform in a premeditated way. Innovation can be supported, but creativity cannot be forced. It can only be allowed to happen when control, interference, and action are balanced out with non-interference, and go-with-the-flow. This attitude in not an excuse for stressed-out managers to neglect their duty, but a time honoured worldview of one of the oldest civilizations in the world that can give them the sovereignty to “get out of the way” and let innovation happen. Y1 - 2017 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-hs-duesseldorf/frontdoor/index/index/docId/1809 VL - 5 IS - 4 SP - 105 EP - 118 ER -