In the 1970s, the large size of enterprises was one of the symbols of the mass production system's rigidity. The second symbol was state interventionism--blamed for the economic difficulties of the period: growing unemployment and upsurge of inflation. Globalisation is characterised by the predominance of deregulated finance ("big finance") over economic activities. Between free enterprise capitalism and monopoly capitalism stands finance-based capitalism. The financial sphere is mobilised to promote variety and reinforce selection.
This book presents in its first part the financial determinants of innovation processes considered in a macro-economic perspective, which are limited by short-term constraints and studies in its second part the linkages existing between the necessity to innovate in order to survive and the constant attention given to financial results.

This book examines the life and works of John Kenneth Galbraith and demonstrates how his non-conventional approach to economics is critical to understanding the trouble that currently exists within economics and economic policies. With new perspectives on his work, this book proposes new answers to the economic challenges both industrialized and developing economies are facing.

Innovation, in economic activity, in managerial concepts and in engineering design, results from creative activities, entrepreneurial strategies and the business climate. Innovation leads to technological, organizational and commercial changes, due to the relationships between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations. These innovation networks create new knowledge and contribute to the dissemination of new socio-economic and technological models, through new production and marketing methods. Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1 is the first of the two volumes that comprise this book. The main objectives across both volumes are to study the innovation processes in today s information and knowledge society; to analyze how links between research and business have intensified; and to discuss the methods by which innovation emerges and is managed by firms, not only from a local perspective but also a global one. The studies presented in these two volumes contribute toward an understanding of the systemic nature of innovations and enable reflection on their potential applications, in order to think about the meaning of growth and prosperity.

Innovation, in economic activity, in managerial concepts and in engineering design, results from creative activities, entrepreneurial strategies and the business climate. Innovation leads to technological, organizational and commercial changes, due to the relationships between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations. These innovation networks create new knowledge and contribute to the dissemination of new socio-economic and technological models, through new production and marketing methods. Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 2 is the second of the two volumes that comprise this book. The main objectives across both volumes are to study the innovation processes in today s information and knowledge society; to analyze how links between research and business have intensified; and to discuss the methods by which innovation emerges and is managed by firms, not only from a local perspective but also a global one. The studies presented in these two volumes contribute toward an understanding of the systemic nature of innovations and enable reflection on their potential applications, in order to think about the meaning of growth and prosperity

This book presents in its first part the financial determinants of innovation processes considered in a macro-economic perspective, which are limited by short-term constraints, and studies in its second part the linkages existing between the necessity to innovate in order to survive and the constant attention given to financial results.

In macro-, meso- and micro-economic systems, the concept of innovation involves a variety of resources and functions. It includes all formal and informal institutions, networks and actors that influence innovation and act as innovation boosters within companies, at the territorial level, at the level of innovation networks or in national economies. This book deals with innovation in a globalized context in terms of the entrepreneur, enterprise, territorial and sectoral systems and national systems of innovation in which collective innovation processes are formed.

In an uncertain economy where business risk is significant, the company tends to rely more on its environment than to invest, for example, in all steps of technological creation; This can be explained by the fact that investments in the acquisition (ownership) of production resources are less expensive than those implied in the formation of these resources; which also explains the attractiveness (in an open economy) of regions with abundant scientific and technical resources. To understand and analyze the innovation process in order to better design and launch new goods, services and technologies, one has to consider the creative dimension of the individual, the business and the organization in general. In new approaches to innovation, the entrepreneur and the company are analyzed through their skills, and their function of resource generation; Innovation thus becomes endogenous, gradual or radical, integrated in a complex process with many feedbacks and interactions. The innovative organization (small or large) is presented in this book as a dynamic system composed of specific and diverse skills (including those of the contractor, engineers or managers). By acquiring, combining and mobilizing these skills, the innovative agent (entrepreneur or company) can create technological resources and develop relations with its environment. Hence the importance of management in design, implementation, protection of intellectual property as well as of the development of new goods, services and technology, commercial and organizational models.