Constraints as sources of radical innovation? Insights from jet propulsion development

In popular parlance, 'necessity is the mother of innovation'. Yet, in innovation management and organizational behavior in general, there is little systematic study into the enabling role of constraints in innovation. In fact, constraints in terms of knowledge or resources are typically connoted negatively, and in order to limit their negative impact on innovation, such constraints need to be overcome. This article contributes to the prevailing notion of overcoming knowledge and resource constraints by discussing four historical cases in the early phases of jet propulsion development. We detail enabling effects of constraints on innovation by drawing on Gidden's structuration theory, and discuss implications for innovation management.