Nuttawuth (Wuth) Muenjohn

Innovation is growing in significance for business leaders, communities, governments, and nations due to its essential role in ensuring survival, competitiveness, growth, and marketplace dominance. Despite its growing prominence, innovation often falls short of delivering better efficiency and improved services. Therefore, this article aims to identify innovation in the public sector, and highlights the barriers to organizational innovation, leadership qualities, and organizational climates that foster innovation cultures. While interpretations of innovation vary, a recurring theme in the literature is that innovation primarily hinges on creativity (Houtgraaf, Kruyen & Van Thiel, 2023) and leadership, including competence rather than solely the effort and experimentation that creativity or invention demands (Chapman 2006). Given the ambiguity surrounding public sector innovation and the lack of managerial tools to navigate it, this article provides insights to understanding the dynamics of innovation in governmental settings.