61 research outputs found
MANAGEMENT INNOVATION: A JOURNEY INTO THE CORE OF RESEARCH IN MANAGEMENT
As innovation is considered central to firmsâ competitive advantage, innovation research has become a cornerstone of strategic management inquiry. However, the vast majority of research attention is dedicated to understanding how firms can stimulate technological innovation. An emerging (or rather resurrecting) research trend espouses the benefits of management innovation. Management innovation refers to the introduction of management practices, processes and structures that are intended to further organizational goals (Birkinshaw, Hamel and Mol, 2008). The emergent dialogue consists of conceptual work (e.g., Birkinshaw et al., 2008), historical outlines of various management innovations (e.g., Mol and Birkinshaw, 2007) and empirical studies (e.g., Damanpour, Walker and Avellaneda, 2009; Vaccaro, Jansen, Van Den Bosch, and Volberda, 2010)
The Interaction between Personality, Social Network Position and Involvement in Innovation Process
Abstract
This dissertation proposal investigates how personality and individualsâ social network
position affect individualsâ involvement into the innovation process. It posits that people would
feel inclined to become involved into the different phases of the innovation process depending on
their Big Five personality traits. Additionally, this research elaborates on personality antecedents
of social relationships and network structure. Furthermore, it accounts for the dynamic
relationship between stages in innovation process and social network structure. Finally, it posits
that there is potentially a mismatch between social network structure in different stages of the
innovation process, and that this mismatch is caused by individualsâ personality. The suggested
conceptual framework contributes to the innovation literature by enriching our understanding of
why people create markedly different patterns of social ties in the workplace and how this tie
formation process and personality influence innovation process. An empirical study aimed at
testing the suggested propositions is suggested
In the Shadow of Social Stereotypes: Gender diversity on corporate boards, board chairâs gender and strategic change
Against the backdrop of spirited public and academic discourse about womenâs low visibility in corporate leadership positions, we examine board gender diversityâs influence on strategic change in firms. Viewing gender as an institutionalized system of social beliefs, the article makes two related arguments. First, it contends that because of gender status difference and bias, more gender diversity will result in less strategic change as a boardâs decisions begin to follow the stance of a smaller but relatively more influential âboyâs clubâ. Second, it contends that should a board have a female chair as opposed to a male chair, a recession in the shadow of gender stereotypes will reverse board gender diversityâs negative effect on strategic change. Instrumental variables analysis of data from Fortune 500 firms supports the theory. We discuss the studyâs contributions and implications
Absorbing customer knowledge: how customer involvement enables service design success
Customers are a knowledge resource outside of the firm that can be utilized for new service success by involving them in the design process. However, existing research on the impact of customer involvement (CI) is inconclusive. Knowledge about customersâ needs and on how best to serve these needs (articulated in the service concept) is best obtained from customers themselves. However, codesign runs the risk of losing control of the service concept. This research argues that of the processes of external knowledge, acquisition (via CI), customer knowledge assimilation, and concept transformation form a capability that enables the firm to exploit customer knowledge in the form of a successful new service. Data from a survey of 126 new service projects show that the impact of CI on new service success is fully mediated by customer knowledge assimilation (the deep understanding of customersâ latent needs) and concept transformation (the modification of the service concept due to customer insights). However, its impact is more nuanced. CI exhibits an ââ©â-shaped relationship with transformation, indicating there is a limit to the beneficial effect of CI. Its relationship with assimilation is âUâ shaped, suggesting a problem with cognitive inertia where initial learnings are ignored. Customer knowledge assimilation directly impacts success, while concept transformation only helps success in the presence of resource slack. An evolving new service design is only beneficial if the firm has the flexibility to adapt to change
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