Many businesses choose innovation in order to capture or preserve market share. But exactly what is innovation? What is its economic impact? Innovation introduces something new or different into the economy-new products, materials, or manufacturing processes, new services or communication channels, new forms of organization. In short, innovation is an engine of corporate and economic growth. This volume contains the full text of the proceedings of the INSEE Business Statistics Directorate's annual seminar held on December 11, 2002. Business executives describe how they innovate. Statisticians present surveys on business innovation in France and elsewhere, after spelling out how the concept of innovation should be understood in different industries. Researchers and economists analyze the impact of innovation on corporate performance, the effectiveness of government policies to support innovation, and intellectual-property issues.