Abstract: This book addresses the nature of industrial dynamics, structural change, and transformation in our time. The central focus is on the question of evolutionary processes and complex transformation in the economy, with particular emphasis on the nature of flexibility and stability. The 19 authors — many of whom are leaders in their field — share a common approach to the economy as an inherently dynamic and complex system consisting of diverse components and activities, which are interacting and changing in different ways over time. Framing the book this way stresses the necessity of analyzing not only economic transformation, but also that diverse actors are deciding, doing, and acting in ways which affect the outcomes. The chapters are grouped within three themes: 1) Experimenting and Inertia, 2) Evolution and Adaptation of Structure, and 3) Innovating and Technological Transformation.

Keywords: industrial dynamics, change, economic transformation, evolutionary economics, innovation, technology