Introduction : innovation and strategy : where to from here?

Introduction: Articles in this Special Issue were first presented at the World Innovation and Strategy Conference (WISC98) in Sydney, Australia in late 1998. Outstanding contributions that included a strong emphasis on technological issues or the management of technology were selected from over 100 refereed papers submitted and presented during the conference. The authors of these papers were then asked to review, revise and update their papers completely, and the returned submissions were subjected to a further round of double blind review. Thus all papers represent an exhaustive process of preparation, review and improvement. They cover a wide range of topics and areas, but all involve the broad theme of how organisations strategically respond to the necessities of innovation and technological change. The papers examine the spectrum of innovation, from small-step incremental innovation to radical or technological innovation and include aspects of both product and process innovation. The 11 articles included focus on the strategic initiatives of organisations to the demands of managing knowledge, resources and processes required for competitive advantage in times of increasing competition and technological change. A brief introduction to each of the 11 selected papers is provided.