Innovation in human/social guise

In this chapter, innovation is viewed from a step further back, as an astronaut might see the earth from space. It is not seen as something analysed as a linear, technical process, whether incremental or radical. Nor is it seen as a process in which social context adds to the mix of other factors to enhance the technical novelty and likely success of a new product. Nor is innovation seen as something to be managed organizationally towards success and profit. It is, as the innovation literature reports, all of these and more. But here, innovation is looked at as a social process, the human dimension of which is considered throughout in order for the process of innovation to be understood.