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RR 2014/136 Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Edited by Elias G. Carayannis Springer New York and Heidelberg 2013 3 vols ISBN 978 1 4614 3857 1 (print); ISBN 978 1 4614 4579 1 (e-book); ISBN 978 1 4614 3858 8 (print and e-book bundle) £719.50 $1,100 (print); £856.21 $1,100 (e-book); £899.50 $1,350 (print and e-book bundle)
Keywords Encyclopedias, Entrepreneurism, Innovation
Review DOI 10.1108/RR-02-2014-0028
It is not very often that a reference set covering such a wide range of topics as creativity, invention, innovation and entrepreneurship comes along. It is most welcome in that regard, addressing topics that are frequently overlooked and yet are so fundamental to many of the activities of both academia and industry. Nevertheless, any encyclopedia, especially one comprising articles from different authors, needs to be a coherent whole to allow the readers to access the information they need. On this point, the encyclopedia fails to reach its full potential.
The encyclopedia comprises three separate hardback volumes, arranged alphabetically by topic across the volumes. In total there are 1,908 pages with 274 entries including 376 figures and 97 tables. The preface tells us that the project is novel in its nature, scale and scope, which is certainly true, but fails to inform the reader who these volumes are aimed at. Are they aimed at academia, industry or public sector, or at all of these groups? Evidentially, the encyclopedia includes entries written by authors within these different sectors, so one assumes the appeal is supposed to be broad, but it is by no means clear. Given that there are 25 pages detailing the experience of the editor, the associate editors and listing all the contributing authors, a preface which was at least three pages rather than three...