Introduction

Among all the domains in which problem-solving paradigms are applied, marketing is most probably the most dominant in its attention to and respect for innovative ideas. This salience ascribed to innovativeness in marketing may be a consequence of the fact that in some situations (e.g., new products) innovation provides added value. For example, an engineering solution is selected when its cost-effective value meets predefined requirements, a scientific theory dominates because it is correct, while the effectiveness of an original idea in marketing sometimes may provide a competitive edge beyond cost-benefit considerations. Consequently, marketing presents an ideal arena in which ideation, problem-solving and innovation may be studied and in addition it affords plenty of documented evidence.

The advantages of the Template approach lie both in its consistency with related theories on ideation and in its practical utility. On the theoretical plane, Templates which are generated by analyzing the evolutionary trends of successful products at their mature stage are applied to non-mature situations. The empirical findings reported later in this book indicate that ideas elicited by individuals trained in Template ideation were judged superior to ideas produced through alternative methods, such as morphological analysis and random stimulation.

It should be expected, therefore, that by examining other fields in which creativity plays a crucial role we can find evidence for the universality of Templates.