JOURNAL ARTICLE

What the Like Button Can Teach Us About Innovation.

  • Published In: Harvard Business Review, 2025, v. 103, n. 3. P. 70 1 of 3

  • Database: Business Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Reeves, Martin; Goodson, Bob 3 of 3

Abstract

This article examines the origins and development of the "like button," a digital feedback mechanism widely associated with Facebook but actually created through a distributed, incremental process involving multiple companies before Facebook's adoption. The like button's history exemplifies how innovation is often serendipitous, social, and evolutionary rather than the product of a single visionary inventor. The article argues that organizations should embrace the messy, iterative nature of innovation by encouraging cognitive diversity, legitimizing inconsistencies, fostering curiosity, and balancing structured management with flexibility. It also challenges the myth of the solo inventor, emphasizing that innovation typically emerges from collaborative networks and incremental improvements across industries.

Additional Information

  • Source:Harvard Business Review. 2025/05, Vol. 103, Issue 3, p70
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Marketing
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:0017-8012
  • Accession Number:184306472
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