Innovation - a New Guide

There is no shortage of syntheses or overviews on specific topics within innovation studies. Much more rare are attempts to synthesize the syntheses, i.e., cover the entire area of innovation studies, emphasize the achievements that have been made, discuss the implications for policy and point to developments that require further research. The introductory chapter “Innovation: A Guide to the literature” in The Oxford Handbook of Innovation (2004) was an attempt to do just that. However, as a guide it is by now a bit out of date. This paper is an attempt to update and extend it, taking into account lessons from new research on the development of innovation studies - and the knowledge base underpinning it - as well important additions to this knowledgebase from the last decade. A more elaborate discussion of innovation policy, including its theoretical underpinnings and what it may achieve, has also been added.