In a world of constant evolution, companies are daily engaged in the race for innovation, continuously pursuing tools to remain competitive and become agents of change. Some of the most disruptive technological, scientific, and cultural innovations of the last century share a similar development path: they emerge as peripheral ideas, initially dismissed, if not openly ostracized for their unusual origins, and eventually assert themselves thanks to the stubborn ingenuity of outsiders, individuals or organizations that operate, at least initially, on the fringes of the social reference system.
 
But how can companies intercept, on one hand, innovation coming from outside, making it their own and adapting it to their own business context? And how, on the other hand, can they identify quality ideas within their own organization by recognizing and valorizing their potential? How then can social networks support (or inhibit) an organization's creativity?
 
The goal of this meeting is to provide the right tools to rethink one's organization with a focus on enhancing its innovative capacity. To do this, participants will have the opportunity to engage with Simone Ferriani, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Bayes Business School, City University of London, and Visiting Fellow at the Center on Organizational Innovation at Columbia University, to delve into the best strategies for facilitating innovation both from those who bring new ideas from outside and from those within who want to facilitate their rise.
 
In particular, the following topics will be addressed:

• why innovation often comes from the periphery: the relationship between incumbents and newcomers and between center and peripheries
• understanding social networks and leveraging connections to maximize innovation and performance
• strengthening innovative capacity and countering resistance to change within one's organizations: case studies.