ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of sociology's theoretical contributions to economic innovation. After presenting Adam Smith's reflections on the division of labour, the classics of sociology, showing how innovation is studied in close connection with social change. The chapter talks about Joseph Schumpeter and then focuses on contemporary sociologists, illustrating the contribution of comparative political economy and the structural approach of the new economic sociology. The former draws attention to the relationship between models of capitalism and innovative regimes; the latter to the role played by social networks in innovative partnerships. The chapter shows the analyses of both classical and contemporary authors from this discipline, in order to demonstrate the contribution that economic sociology can make to IS. Smith's idea that division of labour inevitably tends to qualify work and create greater well-being is challenged by two classical sociologists, Marx and Durkheim. They are considered the founders of two antagonistic sociological traditions based on conflict and social order.
