Critical Studies of Innovation: Alternative Approaches to the Pro-Innovation Bias

Different theories, models and narratives of innovation compete for both legitimacy and authority. However, despite the variations, they all offer a consistent pro-innovation bias, dismissing resistance as irrational, and overlooking the value of non-users and collateral impacts. This book asks, what has been left out? It offers a reflexive view and invites researchers to consider new avenues of research, through a critique of current representations of innovation.

The chapters provide a different viewpoint on innovation by exploring what has been omitted from traditional innovation studies. The book examines imitation, non-innovative roles, resistance to innovation, slow innovation, the rationale of non-users, failure, withdrawal, collateral impacts and alternative models. Calling for new definitions and frameworks, the editors have created a critical program for innovation studies with new avenues for future research.

Offering state-of-the-art discussion of theories, models, narratives and ideologies of innovation and alternative approaches, this book will be an essential resource for scholars in technology and innovation, management, engineering, political and social sciences. It will also appeal to policy-makers in the science and technology sector.

Contributors include: C. Bagattolli, M.W. Bauer, L. Becerra, K. Berglund, T. Brandão, C. Cañibano, M.I. Encinar, G. Gaglio, S. Garrido, B. Godin, F. Goulet, J. Juhl, J. Langrish, K.-H. Leitner, F.-F. Muñoz, S.M. Pfotenhauer, B. Segercrantz, J. Söderberg, K.-E. Sveiby, H. Thomas, D. Vinck, L. Vinsel

Edited by the late Benoît Godin, formerly Full Professor, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Montréal, Canada and Dominique Vinck, Professor, STS Lab, Institut des Sciences Sociales, University of Lausanne, Switzerland