INNOVATION, STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS: HOW DOES ECONOMIC THEORY EXPLAIN INNOVATION WITHIN ENTERPRISES? by

Strategic management establishes an operational link between the enterprise's overall strategy and more specific aspects of management, such as human resources management (HRM). In a way, the strategic vision is an extension of the systemic vision, which included various elements but did not integrate them from the outset into the enterprise's overall strategy nor establish an operational link between these aspects. The present text will shed light on one of the dimensions of the strategy of the enterprise, that is, its innovation strategy. We will reveal the contribution of the economic vision of innovation to the understanding of one area of strategic management, that is, innovation strategy and innovation management within the enterprise. We draw mainly on the work of the economist Joseph Schumpeter as well as the more recent contributions of the evolutionary economists who, in our view, work in the tradition of Schumpeter's vision of the entrepreneur-innovator and appear to be most relevant when returning to the roots of strategic management. Moreover, the contributions of these authors appear to be most useful for legitimizing the strategic management of human resources in a context of innovation since they put forward a vision of innovation as a process. They also take into account collective learning and other aspects that establish a stronger connection between human resources management and innovation management. This justifies the strategic management of human resources, which then becomes linked (or operationalized) to the enterprise's overall strategy, particularly as regards innovation.