The routinization of innovation research: a constructively critical review of the state‐of‐the‐science

Abstract In this review we argue that facilitators of innovation at the individual, group, and organizational levels have been reliably identified, and that validated process models of innovation have been developed. However, a content analysis of selected research published between 1997 and 2002 suggests a routinization of innovation research, with a heavy focus on replication–extension, cross‐sectional designs, and a single level of analysis. We discuss five innovative pathways for future work: Study innovation as an independent variable, across cultures, within a multi‐level framework, and use meta‐analysis and triangulation. To illustrate we propose a ‘distress‐related innovation’ model of the relations between negatively connotated variables and innovation at the individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.