Edward Elgar Publishing Research Handbook on Gender and Innovation (Research Handbooks in Business and Management series)

Innovation is seen as one of the main engines of economic growth. It is generally assumed to be gender neutral when, in fact, the gendered construction of innovation has been traditionally masculine. This Handbook explores the nexus between innovation and gender by providing a wide range of studies from different analytical and methodological perspectives and from various regional and industry contexts and draws implications for a gender-inclusive innovation policy. The multi-disciplinary group of contributors discuss topics such as gender and innovation in new and small businesses, and growth businesses; addressing innovation in different organizational contexts ranging from public sector health care to mining and forestry; researching gender in innovation policy and in design and materiality.This Handbook will be useful to researchers looking to understand parallels between research on gender and innovation on one hand, and research on gender and entrepreneurship or management on the other. It will also be invaluable to students looking for an overview of research in both areas. Review 'The collection of papers in this book make a unique contribution to our knowledge on gender and innovation. It reviews and critiques extant research and fruitfully questions essentialist assumptions of gender and the male gendering of concepts and practices. The papers provide ample empirical evidence from many countries over the world which clearly demonstrate that neither gender nor innovation can be fully understood without putting it into its institutional context - which varies across places.' --- Helene Ahl, Jonkoping University, Sweden 'Gender and innovation are seldom discussed together because innovation is considered a neutral construct. This book examines aspects of gender in innovation across multiple contexts, entrepreneurial businesses, organizations, policy and design, that for the first time highlights where gender matters in innovation. This book will stimulate important research going forward.' --- Candida Brush, Babson College, US 'This is very welcome text which addresses a gap in current research regarding the influence of gender upon women's entrepreneurship and innovation. The impressive collection of expert authors have addressed a wide range of issues illustrating the diversity of this field, challenging prevailing assumptions regarding masculinity and innovation whilst revealing pathways for a future research agenda. I fully endorse and recommend this text as an important addition to the contemporary innovation literature.' --- Susan Marlow, University of Nottingham, UK About the Author Edited by Gry Agnete Alsos, Professor, Nord University Business School, Norway, Ulla Hytti, Research Director, University of Turku, Finland and Elisabet Ljunggren, Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nord University, Norway