The article proposes an alternative approach to the analysis of the links between strategy and innovation in knowledge-based enterprises. Instead of the functional relationships envisaged by classical approaches, the indeterministic approach presented proposes that the environment is a construct, that organization and environment are intertwined, that there are deviation amplifying processes, and that the environment is shared and constructed by actors who influence, modify and create the context. The focus is on the role of decision makers and on the overall process established by them to develop new technologies and to create new markets. The paper reports the development of three generations of technologies in three knowledge-based organizations, as these processes were described by the main decision makers involved. It establishes the relationship among strategic decisions, innovation practices and environmental context and stresses the main characteristics of the initiatives of decision makers concerning the competition and cooperation features of the knowledge-based economy.
strategy; innovation; knowledge-based firms
