Individual attitude toward improvisation in information systems development: a multi-level perspective

Improvisation is rapidly becoming an important issue for both scholars and practitioners. Organizations that operate in turbulent environments must learn to swiftly adapt and respond to such instability, especially in areas as innovation and new product development. In such contexts traditional top-down, carefully-planned approaches to innovative projects may represent an obstacle to effectively dealing with environment uncertainty. Prior research on improvisation has focused considerable attention on the centrality of improvisation in individual and group outcomes, while less emphasis has been placed on how individual attitude toward improvisation is formed. In an attempt to fill this gap, we will theoretically analyze the antecedents of individual attitude toward improvisation, by looking at the Information Systems Development (ISD) domain. In particular, the outcome of this paper is the development of theoretical propositions which could be empirically tested in future research

Exploring the Combination of Organizational Improvisation and Organizational Learning in Information Systems Development

Organizational improvisation (OI) has been gaining an increasing attention to respond to rapidly changing environments, and it needs close and proper management. However, most of the findings on Improvisation I information system development studies are based on variance-based models. Thus, Du et al. (2019) propose a process model that features a continuous iteration between improvisational search and build in ISD. Their four-phase model describes continuous and iterative methods of organizational improvisation to respond to opportunities and threats, presenting an excellent step-by-step guideline for information system development managers to refer to from a practical standpoint. Despite the contributions, their exploratory research is not immune to limitations. Although the authors explained that learning is working in their model, there is only a fragmentary explanation of how the learning process works. In this work, we explore the boundary condition of Du et al.\u27s (2019) proposed model for the OI process in ISD then suggest a new model for ISD by combining the evaluation and learning process model proposed by Beynon-Davies et al. (2004), which is based on Argyris and Schon (1978). We believe that the new framework will help us apprehend that organizational improvisation in ISD generates short-term learning and long-term learning through the evaluation and learning from a process model perspective

Organizational improvisation: a consolidating review and framework

Organizational improvisation is increasingly recognized as a relevant area of management research. However, the cumulativeness of research on improvisation in organizations remains low. This paper organizes existing contributions on organizational improvisation within a new consolidating framework combining degrees (minor, bounded and structural) and levels (individual, interpersonal and organizational) of improvisation. The proposed degree/level framework allows for reviewing the existing literature on organizational improvisation in the management disciplines of strategy, organizational behaviour, organizational theory, innovation and marketing in a systematic manner. It also exposes potential areas for future research across management disciplines, research areas, organizational settings and industries, and beyond existing metaphors, most notably of jazz and improvisational theatre

Strategic improvisation and HEIs performance: the moderating role of organizational culture

Purpose - This study aims to explore the relationships between strategic improvisation, organizational culture and higher education institutions (HEIs) performance. The dynamic nature of today’s environment, increased population and demand and budget cuts have created a lot of pressure on HEIs around the world. Hence, the need for effective human resource capable of providing advanced policies for efficiency and sustainability of these institutions. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 229 questionnaires were filled and returned by academic leaders from HEIs in Kano state, Nigeria. The study used partial least squares path modelling to test the hypotheses postulated. Findings - The major findings indicate that both strategic improvisation and organizational culture dimensions have direct relationship with HEIs performance. However, only innovative culture moderates the relationship between strategic improvisation and HEIs, while bureaucratic culture and supportive culture fail to support the proposed hypothesis. Research limitations/implications - More studies are needed to further validate the impact of strategic improvisation (SI) on other public sector performance. Also, future studies should use longitudinal approach to establish at which stage SI has more impact on performance. Also, future studies should identify the difference that exists between units, department and faculty leaders, as some are more likely to engage in SI due to the nature of their specialization. Practical implications - It is obvious that HEIs performance is not only limited to organizational factors but also individual characteristics such as ability to improvise. Hence, HEIs should consider SI ability during employment to ensure efficiency, performance and sustainability. Moreover, organizational culture of HEIs needs to be updated and to be more flexible in accommodating new initiatives or failure to encourage display of such ability. Originality/value - Previous studies especially in the for profit sector have demonstrated the role of SI and organizational culture on performance. Thus, the present study is one of the early studies in the non-profit sector, specifically the HEIs. Moreover, the inconsistent result of the previous findings necessitates the study to test the moderating effect of organizational culture

Serendipity Science

Serendipity is fundamental to science. This quirky and intriguing phenomenon permeates across scientific disciplines, including the medical sciences, psychological sciences, management and organizational sciences, innovation science, philosophy and library and information sciences. Why is it so ubiquitous? Because of what it facilitates and catalyzes: scientific discoveries from velcro to Viagra, innovation of all forms, unexpected encounters of useful information, novel and important ideas, and deep reflection on how we, as individuals, organizations, communities and societies can take leaps forwards by seizing unexpected opportunities and ‘making our own luck.

Adaptação Improvisada em Equipa: Um Modelo de Adaptação em Tempo Real

Quando as equipas precisam de se adaptar num contexto de escassez extrema de tempo, elas podem paralisar, podem manter o plano anterior, ou podem improvisar um novo plano. Este último fenómeno consiste na adaptação improvisada em equipa. Sendo um conceito recente, pouco se sabe sobre como as equipas se podem adaptar eficazmente em situações de carência temporal, e como podem produzir conhecimento a partir destes processos. Neste artigo conceptual, desenvolvemos um modelo teórico, baseado num fluxo temporal, o qual contribui para um melhor entendimento da adaptação improvisada. Propomos um conjunto de fatores de influência temporais, moderadores da resposta a estímulos contingenciais, e um conjunto de processos de equipa, fundamentais para a eficácia da adaptação improvisada. Propomos, ainda, que a reflexividade em equipa medeia a relação da adaptação improvisada com a aprendizagem. Ao explorar o fluxo temporal da adaptação improvisada em equipa, estendemos as literaturas de improvisação e de adaptação, aumentando a granularidade dos construtos, alargando a sua rede nomológica

Serendipity in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Innovation—A Review and Conceptualisation

Serendipity is at the core of many innovationsInnovation, inventions, and entrepreneurial opportunities. However, despite its importance for organisations and individuals alike, research on the dimensions and antecedents of serendipity is surprisingly scarce. In this chapter, Christian Busch and Matthew Grimes review and synthesize research on serendipity in the entrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship, strategyStrategy, and innovationInnovation context, and suggest a novel conceptualisation of the processProcess of (cultivating) serendipity. They thereby provide the reader with a thorough and wide-ranging view of how serendipity has come into the fore in the field of organization and management, but also what possibilities it opens up for understanding and creating the conditionsConditions for entrepreneurial success. They advance a processProcess-oriented model of serendipity that serves as a basis to elaborate factors that increase the chancesChance for serendipitous encounters and how to capitalize on them. Amongst those, Busch and Grimes distinguish between individual (including reframing, extrovertedness and perseverance) and organizational factors (including systematic evaluations, iteration and team-based collaboration). Their paper, thereby, advances the conceptual understanding of serendipity as much as a theory of how to transfer this understanding successfully into the entrepreneurial context

Team improvised adaptation: team performance in contexts of uncertainty and time scarcity

The main goal of this thesis is to propose, validate, and analyse the team improvised adaptation construct. It comprises one theoretical study and four empirical studies. Team improvised adaptation is the process of team adaptation when design and execution merge. Study 1 deconstructs and recombines team adaptation and team improvisation, proposing the team constructs of purposive improvisation, improvised adaptation and preemptive adaptation. Study 2 validates team improvised- and preemptive adaptation, revealing the moderation role of team learning behaviours on the mediation of improvised adaptation between shared temporal cognitions and team performance. Study 3 suggests that in-action and transitional reflexivity moderate the relationship between shared mental models similarity and improvised adaptive performance, and that transitional reflexivity moderates the relationship between shared mental models similarity and improvised adaptation learning. Study 4 uncovers the mediation effect of team improvised adaptation between future-orientation elevation and team performance. The findings also show that futureorientation diversity has a positive impact on team improvised adaptation learning. However, future-orientation elevation and future-orientation diversity have negative impacts on improvised adaptation learning and team performance, respectively. Finally, study 5 takes an inductive approach revealing two tensions of team improvised adaptation: a deployment tension between routine inertia and improvisation pressures, and a development tension between the need to plan and the need to act immediately. The resolution of these tensions unravels a process that ultimately leads to team learning outcomes. The thesis contributes to the understanding of teamwork, in particular when teams have to adapt to unexpected circumstances under conditions of extreme time scarcity.O objetivo principal desta tese é propor, validar e analisar o construto de adaptação improvisada em equipa. Compreende um estudo teórico e quatro estudos empíricos. A adaptação improvisada em equipa é o processo de adaptação da equipa quando o plano e a execução são simultâneos. O estudo 1 desconstrói e recombina a adaptação e a improvisação em equipa, propondo os construtos de improvisação premeditada, adaptação improvisada e adaptação preparada. O estudo 2 valida a adaptação improvisada e a preparada, revelando o papel de moderação dos comportamentos de aprendizagem em equipa, na mediação da adaptação improvisada entre as cognições temporais partilhadas e o desempenho da equipa. O estudo 3 sugere que as reflexividades em ação e transicional moderam a relação entre a semelhança dos modelos mentais partilhados e o desempenho adaptativo improvisado, e que a reflexividade transicional modera a relação entre a semelhança dos modelos mentais partilhados e a aprendizagem de adaptação improvisada. O estudo 4 expõe o efeito de mediação da adaptação improvisada em equipa entre a orientação futura da equipa e o seu desempenho. Os resultados também revelam que a diversidade na orientação futura da equipa tem um impacto positivo na aprendizagem de adaptação improvisada. No entanto, o construto de orientação para o futuro, composto para o nível da equipa através da elevação e através da diversidade, têm impactos negativos na aprendizagem de adaptação improvisada e no desempenho da equipa, respetivamente. Finalmente, o estudo 5 faz uma abordagem indutiva que revela duas tensões de adaptação improvisada em equipa: uma tensão inicial entre a inércia de rotina e as pressões de improvisação, e uma tensão de desenvolvimento entre a necessidade de planear e a necessidade de agir imediatamente. A resolução destas tensões despoleta um processo que, em última análise, leva à aprendizagem em equipa. Esta tese contribui para a compreensão do trabalho em equipa, em particular quando as equipas precisam de se adaptar a circunstâncias inesperadas em condições extremas de escassez de tempo