The multiple-case study research in three industrial companies - located in Brazil- about organizational changing, comparing cases of lean production system implementation, revealed a suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of organizational innovation. The model tries to account for both continuous changes and discontinuities in organizational innovation. Continuous changes are related to secondary innovation, which doesn’t break an organizational paradigm, while discontinuities are associated with a new trajectory, since a primary innovation adopted by the whole organization. Then, the innovative lean process associated with secondary innovation was inadequate to change the organizational trajectory and it explains the cyclical decisions. On the other hand, the lean production system related to primary innovation, assumes the role as a new trajectory, influencing changes in total organization. The greatest difference found in the companies for innovative diffusion process, was the aspect of spread the organizational principles or a simple set of management’s tools.La investigación de un estudio de caso múltiple en tres compañías industriales, localizadas en Brasil, acerca del cambio organizacional, compara los casos del sistema de implementación de producción limpia, revelando la interpretación sugestiva de determinantes y direcciones de la innovación organizacional. El modelo intenta contabilizar cambios y discontinuidades en la innovación organizacional. Cambios continuos son relacionados a innovación secundaria, lo que no rompe con el paradigma organizacional, mientras las discontinuidades están asociadas a una nueva trayectoria, desde la adopción de la innovación primaria por el total de la organización. Así, el proceso innovativo asociado con la innovación secundaria fue inadecuado para cambiar la trayectoria organizacional y explica las decisiones cíclicas. Por otro lado, el sistema de producción esta relacionado a la innovación primaria, y se asume que tiene un rol en la nueva trayectoria, influenciando cambios en el total de la organización. La gran diferencia encontrada en las compañías destinadas a procesos de difusión innovativa, fue el aspecto de la diseminación de los principios organizacionales o el simple grupo de herramientas de gestión.The multiple-case study research in three industrial companies - located in Brazil- about organizational changing, comparing cases of lean production system implementation, revealed a suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of organizational innovation. The model tries to account for both continuous changes and discontinuities in organizational innovation. Continuous changes are related to secondary innovation, which doesn’t break an organizational paradigm, while discontinuities are associated with a new trajectory, since a primary innovation adopted by the whole organization. Then, the innovative lean process associated with secondary innovation was inadequate to change the organizational trajectory and it explains the cyclical decisions. On the other hand, the lean production system related to primary innovation, assumes the role as a new trajectory, influencing changes in total organization. The greatest difference found in the companies for innovative diffusion process, was the aspect of spread the organizational principles or a simple set of management’s tools.