An Integrated Framework for the Study of Organizational Innovation

Despite the many attempts of researchers to integrate the innovation literature, it continues to be fragmented and its results not cumulative. After a thorough review of the literature, this article proposes an integrative framework that reconciles the theories of innovation by having the types of innovation on one dimension and the degrees of innovation on the other dimension to reduce the confusion in the field and further the development of a workable theory of innovation management. The many factors that influence innovation are then identified and categorized along a four-by-four framework to lead to a comprehensive classification that will reduce the ambiguity and inconsistency in the innovation literature. The implications of this framework for future research on innovation as a profitable product or service are addressed.