The Invention of Technological Innovation: Languages, Discourses and Ideology in Historical Perspective

This timely book provides an intellectual and conceptual history of a key representation of innovation: technological innovation. Tracing the history of the discourses of scholars, practitioners and policy-makers, and exploring how and why innovation became defined as technological, Benoît Godin studies the emergence of the term, its meaning, and its transformation and use over time.

Part I of this unique book offers a genealogy of technological innovation from technological unemployment through technological change and technological progress. Part II then turns to the discourse on technological innovation, asserting that it has emerged as a key term because it serves utilitarian functions.

The Invention of Technological Innovation will be of interest to students and academics studying the concepts and theories of innovation, whilst also being a key resource for policy-makers, managers and analysts looking to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.