ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION In these couple of pages of reflections on the 'European perspective' of organisational innovation, three sets of issues will be briefly discussed. First, and corroborating the analysis by Coriat, one can, I believe, talk about a research 'paradox' today. Whether such paradoxical evidence is sufficient to argue that organisational innovation is the missing link, is an interesting research question, and one which many of the chapters in this book are devoted to. However, as far as I am concerned there are many competing explanations. Second, and following on from the previous point, once we believe that organisational innovation is indeed the crucial missing element, how does one go about studying it? Is the case study approach indeed the most appropriate one? Can 'organisational change best-practice' cases be transferred across sectors, organisations, plants? Or do we need more generalisable information and indicators of organisational change, which we can subject to the whole toolbox of statistical techniques? Third and inescapably, what are the policy implications of all this? Should policy makers force firms to change organisationally? What can governments actually contribute in this whole area?
