Handbook on Alternative Theories of Innovation Benoît Godin, Gérald Gaglio and Dominique Vinck (eds) (2021), x+418pp., £190, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, ISBN: 978-1-78990-229-7
It is unwise to judge a book by its cover. Even so, the cover of this handbook is instructive. The image on the front of the hardback edition is an impressionistic depiction of spinning wheels that look rather like cogs. The cogs are only loosely connected and there are bits of unattached material floating between the spaces. The publishers have included an explanation of the cover image (p.x): the spinning wheels symbolize the several theories (of innovation) considered in the handbook. Some dominate, but not completely. They cover a lot, but not everything. Everything is unfinished and the whole system does not work together without some friction. There is debris (unattached stuff) floating around.