How do organizations initiate, develop, and implement innovations over time? The authors, led by Andrew H. Van de Ven, utilize the longitudinal data gathered during the Minnesota Innovation Research Program (MIRP) to construct a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex processes of organizational change. By examining innovation not as a single event but as a multi-stage developmental process, the text provides a rigorous academic foundation for studying how internal and external factors influence the success or failure of new initiatives.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for scholars and practitioners interested in the mechanics of organizational innovation. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a primary reference for those studying the evolution of management theory.