The environment in which many firms operate is becoming more dynamic, volatile, and unpredictable. This book argues that, rather than replacing planning and forecasting, they should embrace improvisation as a fundamental organisational capability. From a jazz and theatre metaphor, research on organisational improvisation has developed into a unique body of empirical and conceptual work that examines how improvisation occurs in a variety of organisational contexts. Goals, restrictions, and opportunities in these contexts are frequently considerably different from those of improvisation in the arts. Thus, it is essential to develop an understanding of improvisation at all levels and in all types of organisations, including but not limited to strategic change, emergency management, product development, and start-ups, as well as the regular operations of large corporations and governmental institutions. This book pulls together in one place major advances in understanding organizational improvisation. It describes major theoretical- and evidence-based advances in models of organizational improvisation, which the authors define as the deliberate and substantive convergence of the design and execution of a novel activity, that can be created at the individual, team, or organizational level. The authors provide, integrate and consolidate the existing literature on organizational improvisation and offer a comprehensive analysis of key processes. They go beyond a mechanical literature review to include illustrative mini-cases, novel concepts in contemporary work and short personal comments from researchers in the field. Grounded in rigorous academic work to date, this book speaks both to scholars interested in developing research on organizational improvisation and to managers. It discusses both promising paths for academic research and practical recommendations, especially those who deal with unpredictable environments that force them to either improvise or to face harmful or even fatal outcomes for organizational members and/or the entire organization.