Returning to the ambition of the Handbook of Alternatives Theories of Innovation, the concluding chapter underlines the key results: a characterization of the profusion of concepts and alternatives approches, their originality, their theoretical fertility and their political dimension. It questions the difficulties encountered with some disciplines and the neutralization of the normativity involved with the defense of alternative concepts. One surprising result is the absence of real alternative theories of innovation appearing on the horizon. The text suggests a form of resistance to all-encompassing theories and a preference for "middle range" theories that help digging small inroads from different angles of attack. It also shows connections, overlapping and convergence between approaches without these necessarily leading to debates and identifies factors of fragmentation among alternative perspectives. Finally, it questions the absence of articulation of a new theory and suggests three paths to open up toward alternative theorization.
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Front Matter
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Part I: VISIONS OF INNOVATION
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Part II: THEORIZING INNOVATION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: THE FOUNDATIONS
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Part III: ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO INNOVATION
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Part IV: ALTERNATIVE TYPES OF INNOVATION
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Part V: SUPPORTING INNOVATION: REFRAMING THE INSTRUMENTS
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Part VI: IMMUNE DISCIPLINES AND FORGOTTEN THEORIZATIONS
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Part VII: THEORIZING THE THEORIES
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Back Matter
