Starting from the increasing difficulties firms face to create new value for customers and achieve competitive advantage, this book proposes an innovative strategy to sustain innovation at the product level, based on the notion of tradition. Specifically, the authors argue that firms may successfully innovate, exploiting the whole set of competencies, knowledge, values and culture that characterize a specific firm, territory, and/or age. Analyzing several international case studies, this book clearly shows how tradition may be effectively used, allowing companies to create successful new products and how to profit from them. The book tackles the main issues and problems of a tradition-based innovation approach, tracing the patterns of how old and new knowledge can be combined.

• Proposes a new strategic model for promoting and sustaining innovation at product level
• Merges a theoretical perspective with actual cases
• Develops a set of implications that allows managers and practitioners to implement an alternative approach to innovation

• Front Cover 2
• When Tradition Turns into Innovation: How Firms can Create and Appropriate Value Through Tradition 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Table of Contents 7
• List of figures and tables 9
• Acknowledgements 11
• About the authors 13
• Preface 17
• Chapter 1. Re-thinking the innovation approach 19
• Notes 35
• Chapter 2. The meaning of tradition 37
• Chapter 3. A tradition-based innovation strategy 51
• Chapter 4. Case studies 67
  • Aboca 68
  • Amarelli 71