The impact of managerial rationality on the organizational paradigm. Role models in the management of innovation

There is ample empirical evidence that managers believe that innovativeness is structurally anchored in the firm's organization. Moreover, managers rely on a dynamic approach to structure. It appears that innovation networks and projects aiming at innovation currently constitute legitimate structural solutions that also imply a shift towards a new centralization. We regard these structural forms as features of an organizational paradigm that is justified by an underlying managerial rationality. Thus innovativeness is perceived as the best structural fit to an ever-changing environment. Based on case studies in the software industry we discuss how approaches in organizational theory, economic development and cybernetics contribute to the analysis of the phenomenon. We explore the managerial tool kit through the last three decades in order to shed light on the nature of the underlying managerial rationality.