The Meaning of Innovation

This book contributes to contemporary debates on innovation by taking a philosophical approach to interpreting the development of key concepts in the neo-Schumpeterian tradition of innovation studies undergirding current innovation policy frameworks concerned with sustainable transformations. Interpreting the concepts “directionality,” “national systems of innovation” and “mission-oriented innovation” in a historical light, this book aims to contribute to the clarification of their meaning as belonging to a tradition of economic and social thought which has its roots in various debates on political economy since the early modern period. Specifically, the book explores how leading neo-Schumpeterian scholar Christopher Freeman synthesized the ideas of Friedrich List and Joseph Schumpeter in order to challenge what he saw as the neoclassical orthodoxy of his day, and to what extent this synthesis might anticipate present day directional policies for transformative change. Written from a post-metaphysical philosophical perspective, and engaging with core concepts in innovation studies and innovation policy, this work is of great interest to a broad readership within both fields.