Innovation jams as vehicles for innovation

This thesis investigates the emerging phenomenon of the innovation jam, and its use by large firms. Innovation jams allow firms to engage with new actors (e.g. employees, customers, lead users) across company and geographical boundaries, and to direct innovative activity in novel ways. Despite the increasing use and popularity of innovation jams by firms, they have received relatively little scholarly attention compared to other, similar collective practices to promote innovation. Moreover, the previous literature focuses primarily on innovation jams as a vehicle for idea generation and knowledge creation while in order to realize an innovation, the firm needs to integrate the knowledge which calls for an extended perspective on this topic. While innovation jams offer many opportunities to firms, their use also challenges the firm’s established development practices. Previous studies rarely link them to firms’ established development practices and other business activities. There is a need to understand an innovation jam as a situated practice, in order to better understand how it interacts with the surrounding organization. The aim of this thesis is to explore the innovation jam as a potential vehicle for innovation in large, established firms. To do so, the thesis draws on data from four exploratory case studies: three in-depth, single case studies, and one multiple case study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations over the period 2011 to 2016. This thesis proposes to view an innovation jam as a dual search process: on the one hand, a series of knowledge search and knowledge creation activities, and on the other hand, a series of activities to achieve commitment from the firm's employees and managers. The thesis points also to a feedback loop which emerges between innovation jams which shapes further search for knowledge, and how problems for local search are formulated and defined. As a result of this feedback loop, innovation jam problems will tend to converge towards well-known problem definitions. In order for an innovation jam to become a vehicle for innovation, firms could benefit from considering how well the knowledge attributes required to solve a problem corresponds with the firms’ existing knowledge base, on the one hand, and with the firms’ established coordination mechanisms, on the other hand. This thesis points also to that firms implementing and using an innovation jam, can benefit from reframing problems to ‘fit’ with the firm’s established language, the development of new evaluation criteria, and adjustments to a firm’s strategy

Fostering Continuous Innovation with Engaging IT-Assisted Transparent Information Sharing : A Case Study

The paper received the Honorary Mention – Best Paper Award Nominee.Peer reviewe

Organizational Learning Mechanisms and Creative Climate: Insights from an Italian Fashion Design Company

This paper investigates the relationship between different types of organizational learning mechanisms and creative climate. In the context of an action research study, this paper focuses on insights from a survey that was administered to all the employees of the Product Design and Development unit of the company. The results demonstrate that the three different types of organizational learning mechanisms considered in the study (cognitive, structural and procedural mechanisms) are associated with creative climate. The study generates new scientific knowledge about the role of organizational learning mechanisms and provides specific recommendations for organizations that aim to enhance creative climate

Organizational Variables for Developing Collective Creativity in Business: A Case from an Italian Fashion Design Company

The goal of this article is to propose a theoretical framework for collective creativity within an organizational design perspective and to help clarify this concept and how collective creativity can be purposefully managed. In particular, this study identifies relevant organizational variables for enhancing collective creativity and examines the relationship between collective creativity and organizational performance. The research draws upon a survey developed in the context of an in-depth collaborative research study with an Italian fashion design company. As the theory on collective creativity is quite dispersed, the first part of the article attempts to define collective creativity and integrate different theoretical perspectives. Then, method and empirical findings are described. In the last part, the discussion illustrates why it is important for researchers and practitioners to be aware of the concept of collective creativity and its purposeful management

Two sides of the same coin : “The value of pedagogy in the transformational leadership”

The transformational leadership and the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy are two factors that affect a Swedish military officer. The author has identified a need of understanding the process of personal development. An understanding that couldn’t be supplied by the transformational leadership but that was found in the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy. This essay’s purpose is to analyze and describe how the roles of the leader and the teacher are portrayed in the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy and the transformational leadership. The essay’s aim is also to evaluate what value the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy can add to the transformational leadership. Important conclusions in the essay are that the understanding of the collective’s influence on its members and surroundings could possibly be used as a means to spread the transformational leader’s visions and goals. Both in the form of intentions and in the form of a critical approach to knowledge in order to stimulate the individual development. This also helps to capture moments where learning can be achieved even when the leader isn’t present. As an added bonus the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy offer a wider insight in the individual’s needs to grow but also how the proper conditions for development are created

Two sides of the same coin : “The value of pedagogy in the transformational leadership”

The transformational leadership and the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy are two factors that affect a Swedish military officer. The author has identified a need of understanding the process of personal development. An understanding that couldn’t be supplied by the transformational leadership but that was found in the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy. This essay’s purpose is to analyze and describe how the roles of the leader and the teacher are portrayed in the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy and the transformational leadership. The essay’s aim is also to evaluate what value the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy can add to the transformational leadership. Important conclusions in the essay are that the understanding of the collective’s influence on its members and surroundings could possibly be used as a means to spread the transformational leader’s visions and goals. Both in the form of intentions and in the form of a critical approach to knowledge in order to stimulate the individual development. This also helps to capture moments where learning can be achieved even when the leader isn’t present. As an added bonus the Swedish Armed Forces’ basic outlook on pedagogy offer a wider insight in the individual’s needs to grow but also how the proper conditions for development are created

Konflikter, inflytande och förståelse : En begreppsanalys av operationskonst

Utifrån en översikt av den tidigare forskningen konstateras att det finns brister i hur begreppet operationskonst förstås och används. Då begreppet är ett centralt begrepp inom krigföringen får brister kring hur detta förstås en inverkan på förutsättningarna för att utveckla och värdera teorier inom en vetenskaplig kontext. De identifierade bristerna rör operationskonstbegreppets tillskrivna innebörd och attribut såväl som operationskonstens relation till angränsande begrepp. Denna studie genomför en begreppsanalys av begreppet operationskonst inom en kontext av specialoperationer. Operationskonstbegreppet ges inom denna kontext en vidare innebörd varpå en ökad förståelse från detta perspektiv bedöms kunna bidra till att avhjälpa de identifierade spänningarna inom den allmänvetenskapliga litteraturen. Begreppsanalysen genomförs utifrån John Gerrings meta-teori om kvalitativa begrepp kompletterad med Giovanni Sartoris teori kring begreppsabstraktion. Studien konkluderar att operationskonstbegreppet har en stor potential att fungera som ett teoretiskt ramverk för krigföring varinom teorier kring strategi och taktik kan inordnas. Vidare konstateras att operationskonstbegreppet, med dess vida innebörd, har fler likheter med Sun Zis och Clausewitzs beskrivningar av krigskonst än vad begreppsnamnet vid en första anblick antyder

Attention as a means to develop innovation capabilities

In this article, we explore how an innovation jam – an information technology (IT)-based tool to generate new ideas from employees in response to a call for ideas on a predefined theme – was used in two Swedish industrial firms, Volvo Cars and Volvo Group. Based on two qualitative retrospective case studies, we explore the notion of attention, and highlight the inherent ability of an innovation jam to promote attention. We discuss how attention can be used strategically to support the development of firm capabilities for innovation but point also to the risks involved. The paper contributes to emerging research on how firms develop the capabilities for innovation and highlights how attention can be used strategically

CBIs studie om innovationsledning

CBI har under andra halv\ue5ret 2010 och f\uf6rsta halv\ue5ret 2011 genomf\uf6rt en studie av innovationsledning hos 38 utvalda svenska f\uf6retag inom tillverkning, IT och Telekom. Syftet var att unders\uf6ka hur f\uf6retagen leder och organiserar innovation samt vilka utmaningar de st\ue5r inf\uf6r. Fr\ue5gorna har besvarats av antingen VD eller en medlem i ledningsgruppen med insyn i f\uf6retagets hantering av innovation.Resultatet visar att -de flesta f\uf6retagen inte skiljer p\ue5 radikal och inkrementell innovation-i m\ue5nga f\uf6retag anv\ue4nds ordet innovation f\uf6r all produkt- och tj\ue4nsteutveckling-de flesta f\uf6retag ser en \uf6kning av innovationstakten inom sin respektive bransch-de flesta f\uf6retag uttrycker att innovation \ue4r viktigt, samtidigt som f\ue5 f\uf6retag har innovationsfr\ue5gor bland sina tre st\uf6rsta utmaningar-h\ue4lften av f\uf6retagen anv\ue4nder n\ue5gon form av rutin f\uf6r att st\ue4rka sin f\uf6rm\ue5ga att skapa nya produkter och tj\ue4nster, men endast ett f\ue5tal anv\ue4nder flera olika rutiner-f\uf6rstainnovationsf\uf6retagen (mindre, relativt nystartade f\uf6retag) skiljer sig fr\ue5n de \uf6vriga i det att de \ue4r starkt innovationscentrerade-m\ue5nga f\uf6retag v\ue4lkomnar st\uf6d fr\ue5n akademin, men endast ett f\ue5tal \uf6nskar st\uf6d att \uf6ka sin innovationsf\uf6rm\ue5gaCBIs samtliga seniora forskare har genomf\uf6rt intervjuerna