It is no surprise that innovation is fast becoming the central preoccupation in management and related studies. It is argued that the time is now ripe for a move towards a more multi-level, interdisciplinary research. The literature on innovation is reviewed and thematic and conceptual convergence is found across levels and disciplines around the relationship between innovative activity and institutional context and the nature of the innovation process itself. This convergence indicates the opportunity for multi-level, interdisciplinary research and points the way towards the kind of framework based on systems thinking, learning theory and dynamic analysis, through which such research might be pursued.