32 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.13 (2), April 2015 www Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.13 (2): 32-38. 2015 .world-food.net Meri-Rastilantie 3 B, FI-00980 WFL Publisher Science and Technology Helsinki, Finland e-mail: info@world-food.net Contemporary management and innovation: Learning from the gastronomy sector Alfonso Vargas-Sánchez 1 * and Tomas Lopez-Guzman 2 1 Faculty of Business Studies, University of Huelva, Spain. 2 Department of Applied Economics, University of Cordoba, Spain. *e-mail: vargas@uhu.es, tomas.lopez@uco.es. Abstract The purpose of this paper was to study in depth specific experiences of innovative management in the gastronomy sector, with the object of transferring knowledge from restaurants to other types of company. To achieve the basic objective proposed an inductive methodology has been followed, based on the study of six cases in the city of Huelva (Spain), using the qualitative technique of the semi-structured in-depth interview. The itinerary from the particular to the general typical of the inductive methodology has enabled us to put forward, principally, explanatory models of the creative process, the innovatory process and the generation of gastronomic experiences. The expansion of this line of research to include other entrepreneur-chefs would be productive; this should contribute to the generalization of the knowledge acquired, and should help the researcher to progress towards the deductive phase of the scientific method. The main practical implications are centred on better understanding of the key factors involved in passing from the idea (creativity) to the product (the innovation), and from there to customer satisfaction (via the gastronomic experience) that generates customer loyalty and sustainable profitability. The protection of specialist knowledge when innovating is also discussed. Gastronomy is used as a source of inspiration in helping to explain key factors in today’s business world, particularly creativity and innovation, and to develop the concept of gastronomic management. Key words: Creativity, innovation, gastronomy, management. Introduction Today the promotion of innovation is a critical part of any strategy for strengthening the competitiveness of a company, a sector of activity or a tourist region. To become truly innovative, it is widely accepted that the lines of action must include cultural initiatives, as a way of progressing towards consolidating a culture of innovation among companies and the population in general; and this can only be reached when innovation is perceived as something habitual and natural, not as something exceptional. It is most important to lose the fear of innovating; this, in turn, means accepting change as a something natural, associated with the desire to experiment and the capacity to learn from one’s errors. Professor Florida 1 proposed the “3 Ts of economic development” and the creative classes, and argued that the generation of value is founded on three pillars: technology, talent and tolerance. Neither creativity nor innovation usually occur spontaneously: they must be actively managed to stimulate the generation of new ideas (creativity) and their conversion into customer solutions, into marketable products (innovation). The growing significance of creativity in our economy is a fact, and Florida describes our society as one in which the creative ethos is increasingly dominant. Millions of us are beginning to work and live much as the archetypical creative types like artists and scientists always have, with the result that our values and tastes, our personal relationships, our choices of where to live, and even our sense and use of time are changing. Their choices (the ongoing “sea of change” in people’s choices and attitudes and the corresponding economic change, in Florida’s words) have already had, and will have even more in the future, a huge economic impact. So, they will determine how the workplace is organized, what companies will prosper or go bankrupt, and even which cities will thrive or wither. Persuaded by all these arguments, and the resonance achieved by several professional chefs, who undoubtedly can be considered part of that creative class as re-inventors of gastronomy 2 , we have chosen to study the restaurant sector of the hospitality industry, in which the leading protagonists (and at the same time, successful businessmen) have demonstrated their ability to broaden their social profile and impact through those same three Ts. These individuals have been applying new technologies, exploiting talent, and demonstrating a tolerance of error, which is inherent in experimentation: innovation cannot exist without change and without errors from which lessons are learned. Understanding this very well, these individuals are professionals who are accustomed to taking risks deriving from hybridisation, that is, from the combination of different elements of knowledge (which we could call “ingredients”) to create something different, something that offers the consumer novel sensations. Hence we believe that, from a deeper knowledge of how these successful Received 17 January 2015, accepted 30 March 2015.