Towards an integrative view of innovation in food sector SMEs

Most literature on innovation focuses on organizational engagement with innovation types in isolation from one another. By establishing the interdependency of innovation types in SMEs in the UK food sector, this study provides evidence to support the case for a more holistic approach in innovation research. Thus the study both contributes to the limited research on innovation in food sector SMEs and supports the integrative view of innovation. Using questionnaire-based data, structured equation modelling was used to propose and test the interrelationships between the level of engagement with product, process, position and paradigm innovation. A significant positive relationship between innovation types was identified

Facilitators and Inhibitors in the Assimilation of Complex Information Systems

Part 8: Poster PapersInternational audienceComplex information systems may be viewed as systems that cut across functional boundaries within an organization and even organizational boundaries. These include enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, supply chain management (SCM) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, product lifecycle management (PLM) systems and business-to-business (B2B) systems. Such systems pose significant knowledge barriers for assimilation, require coordination with internal and external actors, and entail reengineering of both cross-functional and inter-organizational business processes. Moreover, organizations progress through various stages of assimilation such as initiation, experimentation, implementation, and routinization in assimilating complex systems.An often-overlooked consideration when dealing with such systems is that organizations may not completely assimilate them and even abandon them midway through the assimilation process. Such stories are well-documented in the popular press (e.g., failed projects, cancelled contracts) but generally do not provide insightful explanations of the accompanying assimilation process. However, there is not much evidence in prior empirical literature as to how assimilation processes came together in real-world organizations or the differences in the assimilation processes between organizations that succeeded or failed when dealing with complex information systems.Conceptualizing assimilation as a process by which organizations move from the initiation through the routinization stages, this research strives to uncover facilitators that enable an organization to move to the next stage and inhibitors that may force organizations to stay in the current stage or completely abandon the assimilation process. Employing a multiple case-study approach involving both successful and failed projects of different complex systems with data provided by key informants, this research aims to uncover usable knowledge for researchers and practitioners