ABSTRACT
I argued, in the previous chapter, that the principal findings of Burns and Stalker still seem robust after more than a quarter of a century of research into behaviour in organizations. However, it has to be conceded that The Management of Innovation is not an easy read, even for the professional sociologist. For example, as Burns himself subsequently recognized, the causal structure of the explanation is not reproduced in the narrative of the argument; indeed, rather confusingly, the principal determinant of management practice (the code of conduct imposed by the chief executive) is introduced only towards the end of the text. Not surprisingly, therefore, the book has not proved to be very popular among sociology teachers and examiners. Experience suggests that Joan Woodward’s work offers students a more accessible introduction to the rational systems perspective.
