As we contemplated hosting the “Hitting the Growth Wall” conference at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, and editing this book, we observed that little had actually been written about organic growth in recent years. Work by Penrose (1995) and Chandler (1962) had set the stage for viewing growth from an evolutionary economics perspective. Much of the work that followed then shifted into research on organizational resources and the linkage between strategy and structure. However, the most dominant growth-related theme that exercised researchers and practitioners alike was the study of innovation processes and outcomes. Our understanding of innovation grew dramatically from the 1980s as the topic took on increasing practical and theoretical significance. This literature covered a broad range of topics and concepts, extending from paradigm shifts (Anderson & Tushman, 1990), to corporate entrepreneurship (Hitt, Ireland, & Tuggle, this volume, ch. ; Stopford & Baden-Fuller, 1994), intelligent organizations (Quinn, 1992), mastering change (Kanter, 1983), and time-based competition (Eisenhardt, 1989). Most of these were ideas in good currency, enjoying unparalleled popularity among managers and envious citation rates among scholars. Surely such a wealth of information signaled the arrival of a dominant theoretical model for the role of organizations in creating innovation. But what about growth?

Whereas each book or journal article provided its own valuable contribution, we were disappointed to discover that no dominant theoretical perspective had emerged to integrate the multiple streams of innovation into a more comprehensive and substantive view of growth.