Time To Be Innovative, Hong Kong

Based on the general argument that culture plays a key role in linking creativity to innovation, this chapter provides a cultural explanation toward the innovation paradox in Hong Kong—high in creativity but low in innovation. Specifically, we explore how time orientation, as a less explored cultural dimension, could affect Hong Kong’s social norms and collective behaviors in translating creative potentials into viable innovations for business. Through an in-depth indigenous study on its entrepreneurial activities and ecosystem, we explicate the consequences of time orientation on the situation of crouching innovation in Hong Kong. This chapter concludes with suggestions to turn the vicious cycle of innovation into a virtuous cycle by igniting the self-propelling innovation process in the society.