Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Josiah Wedgwood: the world's greatest innovator -- 2. Joseph Schumpeter's gales of creative destruction -- 3. London's wobbly bridge: learning from failure -- 4. Stephanie Kwolek's new polymer: from labs to riches -- 5. Thomas Edison's organizational genius -- 6. Building a smarter planet?

"What is innovation? How important is innovation in business? How can we use it to succeed? In the last 150 years our world has been transformed - largely due to innovation. Our parents were born into a world where television had yet to be invented, and there was no penicillin or frozen food. Our great grandparents began life in a world with no light bulbs, cars, telephones, or airplanes." "This Very Short Introduction looks at what innovation is and why it can affect us so profoundly. It examines how it occurs, who stimulates it, how it is pursued, and what its outcomes are, both positive and negative. The book shows that innovation is hugely challenging and failure is common, yet it is essential to our social and economic progress." "Mark Dodgson and David Gann also consider the extent to which our understanding of innovation has developed over the past century and how it might be used to interpret the global economy we all face in the future."--BOOK JACKET.