In most discussions about the knowledge-based economy, innovation is associated or even equated with technology, while culture's influence is ignored. Innovation is however embedded in cultural and social contexts, and neglecting these crucial contexts may impede an innovation's diffusion-and eventual success. This book places culture at the center of discussions on innovation, beginning with a comprehensive introduction to innovation's various forms, including the history, sociology, and economics of innovation. Insights from marketing and psychology are integrated into a complexity theory framework, which are then utilized to evaluate case studies of organizations experiencing repeated innovation successes. The sometimes fraught relationship of firms to creativity is discussed, and a new model for to calculating the creativity of an economy is presented.

In most discussions about the knowledge-based economy, innovation is associated or even equated with technology, while culture's influence is ignored. Innovation is however embedded in cultural and social contexts, and neglecting these crucial contexts may impede an innovation's diffusion-and eventual success. This book places culture at the center of discussions on innovation, beginning with a comprehensive introduction to innovation's various forms, including the history, sociology, and economics of innovation. Insights from marketing and psychology are integrated into a complexity theory framework, which are then utilized to evaluate case studies of organizations experiencing repeated innovation successes. The sometimes fraught relationship of firms to creativity is discussed, and a new model for to calculating the creativity of an economy is presented.

In his influential work, Strategy Safari, Henry Mintzberg and his colleagues presented ten schools of strategic thought. In this impressive book, Dany Jacobs demonstrates that the real world of strategic management is much wider and richer.

In Mapping Strategic Diversity, Jacobs distinguishes between 'cockpit theories' of strategy, which bring rational analysis to the forefront, and process-oriented social science approaches, which bring in a wider array of influences to the theory and practice of business planning. Presenting 22 different approaches to strategy making, this book:

• provides a comprehensive overview of the field
• guides the reader in developing theoretical and practical skills
• helps develop both high and low level strategic thinking

This textbook is a useful analysis for practising managers, but really comes into its own as an advanced introduction to the field of strategic management; having read this book, students are fully armed to enter the strategy jungle