This paper presents a summary and analysis of the current state of research in the field of organizational innovativeness and develops a provisional conceptual outline of the overall process and characteristics of organizational innovation and the general factors which may be related to innovativeness. Based on the "summaries approach" to innovativeness (an approach the author views as indispensible to the development of empirical studies with a radically different focus than those now available), the outline is designed to enable the systematic comparison of existing theories and findings and to indicate more clearly the areas in which intensive research is needed. In presenting and illustrating the proposed research strategy, the author (1) offers a general context for innovation by outlining basic components of the social organization and its environment; (2) defines organizational innovation (particularly as it is distinct from other change phenomena); (3) distinguishes stages and dimensions of the process and other descriptive characteristics; (4) examines selected attributes of the contextual components as potential universal determinants of innovativeness (in this case, innovative frequency) and the empirical evidence related to each; and (5) envisages future developments in the field. Included with the paper is a 115-item list of references. (JES)