Banyak sekali yang memberikan defenisi atau pengertian inovasi, dan semuanya memberikan pengertian inovasi yang bermacam-macam dari tiap sumber dan ahli, dan semuanya saling melengkapi dan menguatkan dalam memberikan pengertian tentang apa itu inovasi, berikut beberapa definisi atau pengertian inovasi tersebut:

• Innovation is the creation of something that improves the way we live our lives (Barack Obama,2007).
• an Innovation is an idea for accomplishing some recognize social end in a new way or for a means of accomplishing some new social end (Donald P. Ely, 1982, Seminar an Educational Change).
• Innovation is the creation of the new or the re-arranging of the old in a new way (Michael Vance).
• The term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes to products, processes or services. The often unspoken goal of innovation is to solve a problem. Innovation is an important topic in the study of economics, business, technology, sociology, and engineering. Since innovation is also considered a major driver of the economy, the factors that lead to innovation are also considered to be critical to policy makers. (Wikipedia).
• Technically, “innovation” is defined merely as “introducing something new;” there are no qualifiers of how ground-breaking or world-shattering that something needs to be—only that it needs to be better than what was there before. And that’s where the trouble starts when an organization requests “innovation services” from a consulting firm. Exactly what are they really requesting? The fact is, innovation means different things to different people (Business Week).
• Innovation: a creation (anew device or process) resulting from study and experimentation; the creation of something in the mind; the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new (Wordnet).
• … is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual. It matters little, so far as human behavior is concerned, whether or not an idea is “objectively” new as measured by the lapse of time since its first use or discovery. The perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. If the idea seems new to the individual, it is an innovation (M. Rogers, 1983).

• The term innovation is usually employed in three different contexts. In one context, it is synonymous with invention; that is, it refers to a creative process whereby two or more existing concepts or entities or combined in some novel way to produce a configuration not previously know by the person involved. A person or organization of the literature on creativity treats the term innovation in this fashion (Zaltman, Duncan, Holbek, 1973).
• Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship, the act that endows resources with anew capacity to create wealth (Peter Drucker).
• Innovation is converting ideas to numbers (Informationweek.com).
• Innovation is then simply new technology, i.e. the systematic application of (new) knowledge to (new) resources to produce (new) goods or (new) services (Maciej Soltynski).
• Innovation: “The practical translation of ideas into new or improved products, services, processes, systems or social interactions (The University of Melbourne).
• Innovation is not the result of thinking differently. It is the result of thinking deliberately (in specific ways) about existing problems and unmet needs (Andrew Razeghi).
• Innovation: Something new or improved, having marketable potential, including (1) development of new applications for existing technologies, (2) refinement of existing technologies, or (3) development of new applications for existing technologies (zyn.com)
• Innovation: The process of creating a product or service solution that delivers significant new customer value. The process begins with the selection of the customer and market, includes the identification and prioritization of opportunities, and ends with the creation of an innovative product or service (Anthony W. Ulwick).

Dan tentunya masih banyak lagi definisi atau pengertian yang diberikan tentang inovasi.

Rangkuman Pengertian Inovasi

Defenisi yang diberikan oleh para ahli dan sumber diatas, dapat disimpulkan dari pengertian inovasi, kategori dari inovasi antara lain:

1. Sesuatu yang baru, orisinil, ide segar, penemuan atau perubahan perbaikan. ‘Sesuatu’ ini dapat berupa proses, produksi, jasa atau pelayanan, model bisnis, dan dapat dimulai dari pemikiran kecil seseorang atau ide yang muncul tiba-tiba.
2. Kreativitas yang dimiliki bahkan dikembangkan dari tiap individu atau kelompok organisasi sehingga menghasilkan sesuatu yang baru dan ide-ide yang segar dan orisinil.
3. Memberikan solusi dari suatu permasalahan yang ada atau terobosan baru dengan cara-cara yang baru yang lebih efektif dan efisien
4. Memberikan nilai dan keuntungan bagi organisasi atau individu, sehingga sesuatu yang baru itu dapat digunakan dan menghasilkan keuntungan baik materi, waktu, keamanan dan kenyamanan.