Innovation by Dissent: Theorizing the Innovation Strategies of Public-Sector Professionals in the Context of Complex Innovation

This article presents a new theory of innovation by dissent to conceptualize the strategies of innovating professionals in the context of nonadministrative complex innovation. It constructs these strategies as three dissent options—exit, voice, and loyalty—that innovating professionals use in relation to their organizations and professions. The resulting matrix of nine possible strategies adds to existing conceptual instruments that address the strategies of innovating professionals. The case of the diffusion of natural childbirthing in Ukraine illustrates the usefulness of the new theory, which expands the organizational dissent literature by offering a more nuanced description of dissent strategies.