Facilitating Radical Innovation by Double-Loop Learning: Introducing a Strategic Framework and Toolbox

How can we bring about radical innovations? Despite increasing interest in the field, research does not agree on a best practice. In this paper, we take a cognitive perspective on innovations. We argue that we can facilitate the creation of radical innovations by seeing new opportunities, which subsequently serve as a basis for the creation of (radically) new knowledge. However, perceiving such opportunities is opposed to our cognitive modus operandi. We are blind to them as our cognitive apparatus, according to the predictive coding/mind approach from cognitive science, determines the way we perceive the world in accordance to what we already know, expect and predict. We suggest that we can overcome this opportunity blindness by a double-loop learning strategy in which we question deeply embedded knowledge, assumptions, and premises and take a “fresh” look at the world. Subsequently, we develop a framework that allows for changing our knowledge and perceptual structures to trigger double-loop learning. The framework suggests concrete strategies and tools that can be applied to various fields, such as (radical) innovation, (entrepreneurial) management, and science.