Is innovation always beneficial? A meta-analysis of the relationship between innovation and performance in SMEs

The performance implications of innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have attracted considerable interest among academics and practitioners. However, empirical research on the innovation–performance relationship in SMEs shows controversial results. This meta-analysis synthesizes empirical findings in order to obtain evidence whether and especially under which circumstances smaller, resource-scarce firms benefit from innovation. We find that innovation–performance relationship is context dependent. Factors such as the age of the firm, the type of innovation, and the cultural context affect the impact of innovation on firm performance to a large extent

Managing in conflict: How actors distribute conflict in an industrial network

IMP researchers have examined conflict as a threat to established business relationships and commercial exchanges, drawing on theories and concepts developed in organization studies. We examine cases of conflict in relationships from the oil and gas industry's service sector, focusing on conflicts of interest and resources, and conflict as experienced by actors. Through a comparative case study design, we propose an explanation of how actors manage conflict and manage in conflict given that they tend to value and maintain relationships beyond episodes of exchange. We consider conflicts in relationships from a network perspective, showing that actors experienced these while adapting to changes in their business setting, modifying their roles in that network. By identifying conflict with the organizing forms of relationship and network, we show how actors formulate conflict through pursuing and combining a number of strategies, distributing the conflict across an enlarged network

How to facilitate the implementation and diffusion of sustainable Product-Service Systems? Looking for synergies between strategic design and innovation sciences

Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublishingEco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because eco-efficient PSS are intrinsically radical innovations, that challenge existing customers’ habits (cultural barriers), companies’ organizations (corporate barriers) and regulative framework (regulative barriers). Because of these multi-dimensional changes, eco-efficient PSS can be considered complex and highly uncertain innovations, and therefore difficult to be predicted, planned and managed. Therefore the challenge is not only to conceive eco-efficient PSS concepts, but also to understand which are the most effective strategies to introduce and diffuse these concepts in the market. Bringing together insights from innovation sciences (in particular transition management, strategic niche management and radical innovation studies), the paper puts forward an approach through which effectively manage the implementation and diffusion of eco-efficient PSS innovations. Starting from these results the paper outlines the implications on the design level. A new different role for design emerges. A role that may potentially opens new fields of activity alongside the consolidated ones. A role in which design is not only aimed at defining sustainable PSS concept but it is also aimed at promoting, facilitating and setting- up the conditions for implementing and diffusing this kind of innovations

Creating a culture for radical innovation in a small mature business

This article describes an approach in organizational development to develop an innovation culture for radical product development in a small mature engineering company. The research took place in a business based in the United Kingdom that designed and manufactured instrumentation and specialized packing machines. An initial study within the company’s new product development team identified key aspects that influenced a radical innovation culture. Nine key themes were found to be pertinent, following an iterative process with the development team. These themes were triangulated using the established Organization Culture Assessment Instrument and the Creative Climate Assessment Tool. A third assessment was developed that gauged the development team culture proximity to an ideal position. Seven interventions were developed in conjunction with the company development team, senior managers, the analysis of previous empirical case research and dialogue with UK companies that promote discontinuous innovation. The results of the interventions were evaluated 4 years after implementation. The culture was re-assessed using the same assessment tools and the changes were identified. The outcomes are described and they indicate the success of the company’s attempt to embed a sustainable radical innovation culture into the product development area

Contracts, relationships and innovation in business-to-business exchanges

Purpose: – This paper aims to contrast two approaches to the study of contracts in business and industrial marketing: first, as a legal document in shaping at the outset exchanges and interactions, for instance in projects; and second, as relational norms in becoming integrated into a business relationship through interactions, for instance as a resource. Design/methodology/approach: – The paper draws on cross-case comparison of three projects, as actors develop an engineering service for optimizing the maintenance of large-scale capital equipment by analyzing real-time data from sensors and user records. Comparison is by coding interview and observational data as micro-sequences of interactions among actors. Findings: – Preparing contracts allows a project to commence and is an early form of interaction, intensifying new relationships or cutting into and recasting established ones. Relational norms augment and can supersede the early focus on the contract, thus incorporating incremental innovation and absorbing some uncertainties. Research limitations/implications: – The research approach benefits from detailed comparison and captures some variety across its three cases, but the discussion is limited to theoretical generalization. Practical implications: – The analysis and discussion highlights and focuses on when different approaches to understanding contracting are more apparent across durable business relationships. Transitions from a contractual document to a view of relational norms are subtle, vulnerable and not always made successfully. Originality/value: – This paper’s originality is in it comparison of overlapping approaches to understanding businesses’ uses of contacts in business and industrial marketing, of contract and relational norms. It develops a valuable research proposition, in the transition from a mainly contractual to a mainly relational uses of contracts, thus identifying contract as a particular business resource, to be deployed and embedded

Putting Community First: A Promising Approach to Federal Collaboration for Environmental Improvement: An Evaluation of the Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Demonstration Program

This report is an independent evaluation of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Demonstration Program, a community-driven process that uses the best available data to help communities set priorities and take action on their greatest environmental risks. CARE fosters local partnerships that seek participation from business, government, organizations, residents and EPA staff. It also supports a public, transparent planning and implementation process based on collaborative decision-making and shared action.Key FindingsThe National Academy Panel overseeing this effort was impressed by the dedication of the EPA staff to this unique initiative and commended the EPA for its efforts to partner with communities in achieving important long-term and sustainable environmental improvements at the local level. Recommended actions for the CARE Program include: (1) develop and implement a multifaceted information sharing approach; (2) coordinate and refine internal program management activities; and (3) develop a strategic plan and a business plan for CARE

Effects of the internet on the spatial structure of innovation networks

Research on innovation systems and innovative milieux has shown that the innovation process of companies is strongly interrelated with other firms and organisations. Internet is a new information and communication technology with a considerable potential to change such relationships and networks. An often held expectation is that the Internet will allow firms to interact with distant partners more easily and that as a consequence innovation networks become independent from geographical space. A contrasting view argues that local and regional networks and innovation systems will keep their importance, due to the fact that tacit knowledge, face to face communication and institutional factors are still of key relevance. In the paper we are going to investigate to which extent and how the Internet changes innovation network of companies. Do firms using the Internet intensively have other innovation partners at wider spatial scales than firms which hardly use this communication technology? We have analysed the effects of the Internet on the innovation-related knowledge flows of firms by conducting a telephone survey, personal interviews and a WWW-survey of Austrian firms. Preliminary analysis shows that there is significant variance between firms depending on the relative importance of different types of knowledge communicated and the type of firm (e.g., science-based firms versus traditional manufacturing firms). Overall, there is evidence that the Internet made relations to innovation partners more efficient. However, the configuration of networks (types and location of partners) did not change as much as is often expected in the literature.

A content and comparative analysis of strategic management research in the Baltic area

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a research agenda for qualitative studies in the field of strategic management (SM) in the Baltic area. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 167 SM-related articles in this area between 2000 and 2013 were found. The content within title, abstract and authors’ keywords was analysed by means of a multiple correspondence analysis based on the HOMALS technique. Findings – The intellectual structure of SM in the Baltic area is to some extent similar to the global structure of the field. Hence research on this topic in the Baltic area is well integrated in the field. Three topics of interest have been identified while the fourth seems to offer more limited opportunities for qualitative studies. These are: entry and competition; strategic behaviour and the micro-foundations of strategy; the growth-performance relationship; and global strategies. Research limitations/implications – Despite the modest number of articles in our sample, the findings are consistent with past research on the structure of the SM field. The classification of articles into qualitative- and quantitative-based methods helped provide a research agenda. Practical implications – SM scholars in the Baltic area may find this paper as an interesting input to their quest for finding and justifying their own research path. Originality/value – This is an original literature review. The use of a quantitative method in the literature review and the suggested matrix is a second original contribution to evolving methodologies for content analysis. The method allows the inclusion of large samples while limiting the use of scholars’ intuition. </jats:sec

Knowledge management and organizational learning: Strategies and practices for innovation

In a globalised competitive world, organisations are looking for ways to gain or maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Of the important challenges facing firms and organizations three are of prime importance: (1) for organizations to know what they know and maximise the transfer of this knowledge throughout their organisation; (2) finding ways of working which assist in maintaining their competitive advantage and finding new ways of gaining competitive advantage often through innovation, and (3) continuously learning through the exploitation of existing resources and capabilities and the exploration of new resources and capabilities to improve their performance. These challenges are interrelated. This paper investigates some of the extensive literature on innovation and knowledge management and suggests propositions for future research