ABSTRACT
Complexity theories offer a new way to look at our world, organisational life, and innovation. Often, we use the terminology of complex systems a bit haphazardly, and this chapter attempts to sort out the most commonly misunderstood with particular concepts. As our initial understanding of these concepts originates from the natural sciences, we highlight this in the discussion of complex adaptive systems (CAS) so as to bridge its use in the social world.
There is a difference between understanding innovation as a complex system and as opposed simply being complex. In this chapter, we provide an analysis of properties and characteristics of complex systems and propose that CAS can help us understand innovation – indeed, that perhaps innovation can be understood as a CAS. To conclude, the chapter provides a short interpretation of what these properties and characteristics, in terms of innovation, suggest for organisational action.
