“The Elgar Companion to Innovation and Knowledge Creation”

 

This Companion provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview and critical evaluation of existing conceptualizations and new developments in innovation research. Arguing that innovation research requires inter- and trans-disciplinary explanations and methodological pluralism at various levels, it draws on multiple perspectives of innovation, knowledge and creativity from economics, geography, history, management, political science and sociology. The Companion provides the definitive guide to the field and introduces new approaches, perspectives and developments.

The Companion systematically analyzes the challenges, problems and gaps in innovation research. Leading scholars reflect upon and critically assess the fundamental topics of the field, including:

• innovation as a concept

• innovation and institutions

• innovation and creativity

• innovation, networking and communities

• innovation in permanent spatial settings

• innovation in temporary and virtual settings

• innovation, entrepreneurship and market making

• innovation governance and management.

Innovation researchers and students in economics, economic geography, industrial sociology, innovation studies, international business, management and political science will find the Companion to be an essential resource. It will also appeal to practitioners in innovation and policy makers in economic development, public policy and innovation policy.

 

Edited by:

  • Harald Bathelt, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Innovation and Governance, departments of Political Science and Geography and Planning, Univ. of Toronto, Canada
  • Patrick Cohendet, Professor, Department of International Business, HEC Montréal, Canada
  • Sebastian Henn, Professor, Department of Geography, F.Schiller University Jena, Germany
  • Laurent Simon, Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, HEC Montréal, Canada

You can buy it here.


‘This is an innovative book on innovation. It innovates through the organisation of the subject achieved by the four editors. It digs into innovation as a concept, as institutions, as creativity, channeled through temporary and permanent organisations, shaping markets and dialoguing with entrepreneurship, and as embedded in places and networks. The contributions are not just hagiographies. All have critical thinking, questioning categories and data and findings. These are reasons why this book will become the essential reference in the field.’
– Michael Storper, The London School of Economics, UK

‘This very wide-ranging selection of chapters reflects a much broader outlook than most other innovation research collections. It is not wedded to any school or discipline, yet it draws on relevant ideas from virtually all of them. It is an ideal companion for a reader interested in the various new perspectives on innovation that have emerged recently and how these are connected to established themes, or the reader interested in developing a more interdisciplinary appreciation of the subject area.’
– John Cantwell, Rutgers University, US