Encyclopedia of Technology and Innovation Management

Preface

Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) is emerging as a field of its own. It has historically been scattered across multiple disciplinary fields, and indeed, in many universities, courses on the subject can be found in schools of management, engineering, and even science. Likewise, the richness of the research agenda in the field has drawn scholars from many disciplines, including economics, psychology, sociology, and all functional areas of business. Defining the field is challenging due not merely to the complexity of the subject matter, but also because of its highly dynamic nature. But the concept of an encyclopedia of Technology and Innovation Management is surely a cue that scholars perceive a new field coalescing.

In 2004, Rosemary Nixon approached one of the co-editors (V.K. Narayanan) with the idea of this encyclopedia as a volume in the Blackwell encyclopedia series, and Cary Cooper who was a major advisor for that series was very encouraging to move ahead. As a result of a merger, this volume is now published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Knowing that this is a daunting task, Narayanan sought the help of Michael Hitt who identified Gina O'Connor who was willing and able to undertake the collaboration in editing this volume. Gina not only understood technology, but also brought marketing and project management experience to the endeavor. Together, they shared a passion for technology from different perspectives: strategy, marketing, and project management.

Our first ...