Innovation: Between Ambiguity and Clarity

This entry addresses the ongoing challenge of defining innovation within the social sciences, particularly in organizational theory. It conceptualizes innovation as a dynamic and embedded organizational phenomenon. Innovation is central to contemporary discourse, yet it remains fluid, contested, and context-dependent. Rather than viewing innovation as a fixed technical process, the entry examines how it emerges through shifting configurations of meaning, organizational structures and institutional environment. It draws on institutional, processual, and configurational perspectives. These perspectives emphasize the role of ambiguity and clarity as co-existing forces that shape innovation across multiple levels. The entry aims to clarify this ambiguity through a synthesis of typologies, theoretical frameworks, and empirical insights. In doing so, it offers a configurational lens on how innovation is shaped and interpreted across diverse organizational and institutional contexts.