Unveiling Keith Pavitt as a pioneer of innovation-as-practice

Purpose The current landscape of management scholarship faces criticism for prioritising theoretical development over practical relevance, leading to a disconnect between academic research and industry practices or applications. By exploring Pavitt's work, the authors aim to highlight the importance of contextual understanding in innovation processes and to advocate for recognising diverse scholarly contributions that challenge established norms. A pragmatic theorist and mentor to a whole generation of innovation science and policy scholars worldwide, especially in Europe, Keith Pavitt left a legacy that is insufficiently acknowledged. Ultimately, this paper seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to defend an innovation management that is responsive to contemporary organisational challenges. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the most relevant works by Keith Pavitt as a practitioner and as a "pragmatic theorist" and his network of author relationships, including all papers, special issues and reports published after his passing. Then, the authors discuss how those seminal papers or reports have been used and could be used in the future. This paper argues for a balanced approach that integrates rigorous academic inquiry with practical insights, emphasising the contributions of Keith Pavitt as a pioneering figure in Innovation-as-Practice. Findings The authors highlight that much of the current understanding of science and policy of innovation can be traced back to Pavitt's work and that many future debates about technology could be enhanced by considering his findings. He has the stature of a parental figure, and his taxonomy, based on practice and empirical data, much like other management analysis tools, is widely used but not widely recognised yet, especially by industry managers or employees. Originality/value This paper sheds new light on an unacknowledged transdisciplinary pioneer, whose work is situated at the intersection of theory and praxis in Innovation Management: Keith Pavitt. It also advocates for a more transdisciplinary and circumstantial historical approach to management scholars.