Product Description
This key book takes a critical look at major perspectives on innovation, suggesting that innovation is not a designed functional activity of a firm or an intentional process through which firms anticipate changes in conditions.
From the Back Cover
People in organizations often speak of innovation as if it were the ultimate new idea one that would finally deliver them from the pressures of competition if they could only make the right rational choice. Since they believe that innovation is the realization of a rationally chosen goal, it is difficult to explain, even to themselves, why they never reach this promised land, and must instead keep innovating. From the perspective of rational choice, one can only conclude that failure to identify an innovation in advance is due to incompetence, and this inevitably leads to frustration and anxiety.
Complexity and Innovation in Organizations takes a different approach. Innovation is simply shown to be a new patterning of our experiences of being together, as new meaning emerges from ordinary, every-day work conversations. Viewed from a complex responsive process perspective, innovation feels less menacing and becomes a challenging, exciting process of participating with others in the evolution of wo