Titre : [FORTHCOMING] The concept of innovation and its uses: the case of the defense naval sector 

Auteurs : Sylvain Munger
, Denis Lemaître,  

Revue : Technology and Innovation 

Numéro : Forthcoming papers 

Volume :  

Date : 2025/11/11 

DOI : TBA 

ISSN : 2399-8571 

Résumé : This article offers a critical analysis of how the concept of innovation is used in the French naval defense sector. Drawing on qualitative research conducted among engineers, sailors, and institutional decision-makers, it highlights the ambivalence of the term: at once an instrument of institutional legitimation and a performative category that orients action. Innovation here is embedded in power dynamics, revealing a divide between “top-down” innovations driven by the state and industry, and “bottom-up” innovations emerging from the field. Two visions are thus opposed: one that values technological rupture, complexity, and long-term projection, and another that prioritizes adaptability, simplicity, and practical mastery of equipment. This tension reshapes skills, roles, and professional hierarchies, while raising a central question: who actually holds the power to innovate within the Navy? Although open innovation promotes broad participation, the actual influence of frontline personnel on major strategic orientations remains limited. Far from being a neutral concept, innovation functions as an analyzer of political relations, structuring the dynamics between institutional elites and operational actors. The analysis reveals a growing sense of dispossession of operational know-how in favor of central stakeholders who possess the capacity to envision the future. Innovation thus becomes a lever for redistributing symbolic power in the making of organizational change. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience