Urgent!…to reward innovation in information technologies with a real focus on value generation

Innovation in information technologies (IT) is commonly treated as a purpose in itself; however, from this point of view, managers, especially the chief technology officers or IT managers, do not necessarily take into account the value generation of IT for their organizations in which these types of operations and projects are developed and implemented, resulting in the consequent loss of value. In this chapter, a logical sequence for evaluating the value generation of innovations in IT is presented which consists of the following themes: (1) How do organizations generate value? (2) How do innovations in IT generate value? (with a general literature review and a focus on cases from South America); and (3) How can organizations calculate the value generation of innovations in IT? Finally, some conclusions and recommendations for future research are presented.