Foreword of the book: Technological innovation and occupational structure in medium and large companies in Paraguay in Post Covid-19, by Heikel and Palau (2022)
By José Tomás Sánchez
Innovation is incessant transformation. Although the need to “innovate” is usually part of the conventional discourse, the truth is that innovation is not a romantic process since it alters lives. Strictly speaking, innovation is another way of referring to the concept of “creative destruction.” This was made popular by the economist Joseph Schumpeter, to account for the emergence of economic, technological, and organizational processes which, as they develop, also leave a trail of destruction in their wake. This movement is accentuated in market economies and, even more so, in times of crisis that push to innovate for the need of survival, adaptation and improvement. That is why it is essential to know more about the innovative processes that occur in key fields of economic, political, and social life in our country; but in Paraguay, research in these areas is still scarce, despite the negative implications of ignoring these phenomena. Issues as fundamental as changes in employment, which have an impact on the life of society, have not been approached with a minimum of rigor. In this context, the research “Technological innovation and occupational structure in medium and large companies in Paraguay in the Post Covid-19 period”, a paper by María Victoria Heikel, Rafael Palau and team, contributes to shed light in the midst of a widespread obscurity on such a strategic topic.