Final answer:
The most obvious incentive for creating and accepting innovation is the potential for higher profits and maintaining a competitive advantage in the market. However, protecting innovations from easy duplication is crucial to sustain the incentive for continued research and development.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most obvious incentive to come up with and accept an innovation is the potential for higher profits that a firm can earn through creating cost-effective products or bringing to market products with desirable features that consumers want. This drive is often what fuels companies to maintain a competitive edge. As stated by Gregory Lee, CEO of Samsung, the relentless pursuit of innovation allows companies like Samsung to offer consumers a world of new technological possibilities, thus cementing their position in the market. Unfortunately, if these innovations are easily replicated by others, the inventing firm may lose motivation to continue investing in research and development since the potential returns would diminish. Therefore, certain mechanisms such as patents can protect innovators and maintain their incentives, though they must be balanced to encourage continual innovation without stifling competition.