Abstract:

While technology may serve as a key enabler of quality, quality is in large a result of the human dimension. This dimension manifests in many ways, amongst the most important of which is people-centered innovation where often we may think of this as the push-pull interface between the market environment and the organization’s human capital or, in many cases, the individual inventor. More effective innovation can be attained via collaboration – not only internal to the organization and its supply chain – but between the organization and the culture(s) it serves via the process of co-creation.

It is this understanding, sensitivity to, and leverage of culture in the broader sense that is less-developed in the field of quality management. Innovation as addressed herein contributes to business excellence through conscious and customer-centric collaboration between the corporation and the culture. As such we explore intersections among cultural anthropology, innovation, and quality management wherein the customer (user) culture is often inadequately culled and elaborated.