Challenging the Innovation Paradigm

Innovation is almost always seen as a "good thing". Challenging the Innovation Paradigm is a critical analysis of the innovation frenzy and contemporary innovation research. The one-sided focus on desirable effects of innovation misses many opportunities to reduce the undesirable consequences. Authors in this book show how systemic effects outside the innovating firms reduce the net benefits of innovation for individual employees, customers, as well as for society as a whole - also the innovators' own organizations.
This book analyzes the dominant discourses that construct and reconstruct the assumptions and one-sidedness of contemporary innovation research (generally known as the pro-innovation bias) by focusing on consequences of innovation, distinguishing between intended and unintended as well as desirable and undesirable consequences. Contributors illustrate how both the discourses of innovation and the consequences of innovation permeate all levels of society: in policy discourse, in academic discourse, in research funding, in national innovation systems, in the financial sector, in organizational and work contexts, and in environmental pollution. The volume offers a critical, multidisciplinary, and multinational perspective on the topic, with authors from diverse academic fields examining and making comparisons between a variety of national contexts.

Karl-Erik Sveiby is professor in Knowledge Management at Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki. His book The New Organizational Wealth (1997) is regarded as one of the seminal works in the field. His latest works are inspired by indigenous knowledge: Aboriginal Principles for a Sustainable Society (Sustainable Development 2009) and Collective Leadership with Power Symmetry (Journal of Leadership, forthcoming 2011). His current research interests are innovation and non-hierarchical leadership. Pernilla Gripenberg, PhD is researcher at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki. Her research interest is in human-ICT relationships and the socio-cultural effects of information and communication technology (ICT) use on everyday life in and across various contexts. She has published her work in books and journals, like The Information Society and Information Technology and People. Beata Segercrantz, PhD is researcher at Hanken School of Economics. Her main research interests are in new product development, innovation, organizational change and restructurings, identity, subjectivity, gender and discourse analysis. She has published a Ph.D. thesis, a working paper, an article (Ephemera theory & politics in organization) and numerous conference papers on these topics.

1. Challenging the Innovation Paradigm: The Prevailing Pro-Innovation Bias Pernilla Gripenberg, Karl-Erik Sveiby and Beata Segercrantz Part 1: Problematizing Innovation 2. On the Limits of What Can Be Said About 'Innovation': Interplay and Contrasts Between Academic and Policy Discourses Martin Fougère and Nancy Harding 3. ----------: An Old Word for a New World, or the De-Contestation of a Political and Contested Concept Benoît Godin 4. The Unintended and Undesirable Consequences: Neglected by Innovation Research Karl-Erik Sveiby, Pernilla Gripenberg and Beata Segercrantz Part 2: Understanding the Systemic Nature of Innovation 5. Accelerating the Innovation Race: Do We Need Reflexive Brakes? Mervi Hasu, Karl-Heinz Leitner, Nikodemus Solitander and Urmas Varblane 6. Innovation and the Global Financial Crisis: Systemic Consequences of Incompetence Karl-Erik Sveiby 7. Weak Signals for Opting Out of the Innovation Race Karl-Heinz Leitner Part 3: Exploring Unintended Consequences of Innovation 8. Do Major Innovation Models Consider Unintended Consequences? A Review and Revised Framework Martin Lindell 9. From Autonomous Craftsmen to Compliant Resources: Implications for Undesirable Consequences of Innovation Beata Segercrantz 10. Organizational Innovations: An Exploratory Study of Negative Effects Almudena Cañibano, Oihana Basilio and M. Paloma Sánchez 11. Information and Communication Technology as an Exporter of CO2 Emissions Mitsutaka Matsumoto and Kotaro Kawajiri 12. Challenging the Innovation Paradigm: Conclusions, Practical Implications and Future Research Karl-Erik Sveiby, Pernilla Gripenberg and Beata Segercrantz. List of Contributors. Index