This handbook looks to provide academics and students with a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the phenomenon of innovation. Innovation spans a number of fields within the social sciences and humanities: Management, Economics, Geography, Sociology, Politics, Psychology, and History. Consequently, the rapidly increasing body of literature on innovation is characterized by a multitude of perspectives based on, or cutting across, existing disciplines and specializations. Scholars of innovation can come from such diverse starting points that much of this literature can be missed, and so constructive dialogues missed. The editors of The Oxford Handbook of Innovation have carefully selected and designed twenty-one contributions from leading academic experts within their particular field, each focusing on a specific aspect of innovation. These have been organized into four main sections, the first of which looks at the creation of innovations, with particular focus on firms and networks. Section Two provides an account of the wider systematic setting influencing innovation and the role of institutions and organizations in this context. Section Three explores some of the diversity in the working of innovation over time and across different sectors of the economy, and Section Four focuses on the consequences of innovation with respect to economic growth, international competitiveness, and employment. An introductory overview, concluding remarks, and guide to further reading for each chapter, make this handbook a key introduction and vital reference work for researchers, academics, and advanced students of innovation. Contributors to this volume - Jan Fagerberg, University of Oslo William Lazonick, INSEAD Walter W. Powell, Stanford University Keith Pavitt, SPRU Alice Lam, Brunel University Keith Smith, INTECH Charles Edquist, Linkoping David Mowery, University of California, Berkeley Mary O'Sullivan, INSEAD Ove Granstrand, Chalmers Bjorn Asheim, University of Lund Rajneesh Narula, Copenhagen Business School Antonello Zanfei, Urbino Kristine Bruland, University of Oslo Franco Malerba, University of Bocconi Nick Von Tunzelmann, SPRU Ian Miles, University of Manchester Bronwyn Hall, University of California, Berkeley Bart Verspagen , ECIS Francisco Louca, ISEG Manuel M. Godinho, ISEG Richard R. Nelson, Mario Pianta, Urbino Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Aalborg

The Oxford Handbook of Innovation

Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance

The theory of the growth of the firm

Reengineering the Corporation

Corporations increasingly subscribe to the principles of corporate sustainability, which is generally described as the integration of economic, environmental and social dimensions. Concerning innovation management, this emphasises the role of sustainability-oriented innovations (SOI). SOI is considered a tool both to address sustainability issues and to tap into new customer segments and markets. Yet SOI are very risky: both their market success and non-economic sustainability are uncertain. This paper presents a generic model termed the "Sustainability Innovation Cube" (SIC) for structuring innovations' sustainability effects in order to better inform corporate decision-makers about how to minimize the directional risk of SOI. The model includes the three dimensions: target, life cycle and innovation type. A qualitative expert study reveals the opportunities and challenges related to the developed model. Finally, practical implications are derived, limitations are discussed and a brief outlook is given.

Sustainability innovation cube — a framework to evaluate sustainability-oriented innovations

Organizational innovation: The challenge of measuring non-technical innovation in large-scale surveys

Purpose – This paper sets out to discuss the results of a specific part of a Europe‐wide Delphi study that considers issues of absorptive capacity in European manufacturing. Owing to the importance to competitiveness of increasing innovative capabilities in manufacturing it is highly relevant to explore how a wide community of manufacturing experts experience the phenomenon of absorptive capacity and sense future developments.Design/methodology/approach – A two round Delphi method was designed in which more than 3,000 experts from 22 European countries assessed 101 statements. This paper discusses eight statements focused on the issue of absorptive capacity.Findings – The results show a general consensus about the influence of different inter‐firm relationships in acquiring external knowledge and a diversified knowledge structure for assimilating the acquired knowledge. The study also indicates some potential challenges and contradictions in managing inter‐firm relationships and knowledge diversity as wel...

Absorptive capacity in European manufacturing: a Delphi study

Services are playing an increasingly important role in modern economies. But services and innovations in services are not only a phenomenon in the service sectors, they also occur in the manufacturing industry. Services in the manufacturing industry are product-related services which are offered to customers together with the main products as an integrated solution. Based on firm level data from the European Manufacturing Survey 2006 for Germany, this paper explores the empirical relevance of product-related services and service innovations for manufacturing enterprises. The paper empirically analyses which types of traditional and advanced services manufacturing firms offer to their customers. Furthermore, it is shown that product-related services and service innovations significantly contribute to the sales of manufacturing firms. Using a multivariate regression model, it can be shown that services are particularly important for manufacturers of complex products and single unit or small batch size manufacturers.

Relevance and innovation of production-related services in manufacturing industry

We examine the role and importance of knowledge management in European manufacturing, based on a comprehensive Delphi survey that covers a wide range of aspects relevant for future competitiveness of European manufacturing. The importance of various knowledge management activities, their estimated time of realisation, effects on employment, competitiveness, living and working conditions and possible barriers of implementation such as the level of education and qualification, economic viability, social acceptability, technical feasibility are analysed. The results highlight the consensus about the importance of knowledge as a strategically important resource and indicate a shift from resource-based towards knowledge-based manufacturing has already started. The results reveal inconsistencies between avowed importance of knowledge management and scepticism toward some aspects that potentially foster knowledge developments. It also indicates that education emerges as frequently mentioned barrier for implementing knowledge management activities. The paper concludes with policy recommendations aimed at strengthening knowledge-based production in the European manufacturing.

Managing knowledge in manufacturing: results of a Delphi study in European manufacturing industry

Die Fahigkeit von Betrieben, neue Produkte auf den Markt zu bringen und ihre Wertschopfungsprozesse technisch und organisatorisch auf neuestem Stand zu halten, hangt entscheidend von den Mitarbeitern, ihren Kompetenzen und ihrem Wissen ab. Die Produktionsinnovationserhebung 2003 zeigt, dass viele Unternehmen dabei nur auf einzelne oder wenige Mitarbeiter bauen konnen, deren Ausfall ihre Innovationskompetenz erheblich beeintrachtigen wurde. Nicht einmal jeder siebte Betrieb weist eine grosere personelle Redundanz auf. Nur etwa jeder zwanzigste Betrieb ist so organisiert, dass Innovationen weitgehend unabhangig von bestimmten Personen erreicht werden konnen. Dies sind vor allem grosere und Betriebe mit einem hohen Qualifikationsniveau. So weit Innovationskompetenz durch Strukturen und Prozesse gestutzt ist, handelt es sich eher um traditionelle Instrumente, wie standardisierte Ablaufe und Handbucher. Wissensmanagement-Tools wie Wissensdatenbanken oder Gelbe Seiten zu Experten, sind auch bei diesen Betrieben die Ausnahme. Wie wichtig ein gutes Kompetenzmanagement ist, zeigt sich daran, dass vor allem die Betriebe Wachstumspotenziale erschliesen konnen, die ihre Innovationskompetenz auf mehrere Schultern verteilen oder organisatorisch absichern.

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/29503/1/611898470.pdf

Heidi Armbruster

Papers

Organizational innovation: The challenge of measuring non-technical innovation in large-scale surveys

Absorptive capacity in European manufacturing: a Delphi study

Relevance and innovation of production-related services in manufacturing industry

Managing knowledge in manufacturing: results of a Delphi study in European manufacturing industry

Innovationskompetenz auf wenigen Schultern: wie abhängig sind Betriebe vom Wissen und den Fähigkeiten einzelner Mitarbeiter?