The study of a complex phenomenon such as innovation, influences and effects of which are tangible in manifold contexts, traditionally requires the integration of different levels of analysis and the interaction among distant disciplines. The enterprise appears to be the fundamental agent of economic change; in this context, innovation, by intervening in the sphere of technology, constitutes a fundamental dimension also for social change. In addition, it interacts in the circle of a complex matrix of cultural, economic and institutional factors which are the base of social and economical evolution. In this context, the research questions (RQ) investigated by the authors are: “what is innovation?†[RQ 1] and “which are the main evolutions of innovation management models?†[RQ 2]. Literature on this matter has exponentially evolved in recent years. Nevertheless, innovation literature presents a large heterogeneity of results, while the innovation process concept itself is still poorly understood. In order to investigate the first research question, authors review forms and structures of innovation models developed throughout the years. At the end a discussion on the characteristics of literature evolution, through a strength-weakness analysis, is presented by the authors.
