Innovation and Transformation
What Makes an Organization Innovatively Successful?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Scott Kerth
This paper explores the cognitive process and cultural influences of innovation within organizations. Utilizing qualitative methods, the study investigates innovation in organizations deemed to be innovatively successful organizations. This research contributes to the field of knowledge management by adding descriptive empirical support to the extant literature and furthering an understanding of what makes an organization innovative from the perspectives of employees in innovatively successful organizations. The cognitive processes of the individuals and the corresponding organizational cultures offer insights into how these companies excel in the area of organizational innovation. The study uses phenomenology to investigate explanations of organizational innovation, leveraging qualitative data to help in understanding the specific area of inquiry. The unique aspect of this research is it’s grounding the findings in the world of practice by means of rich description and contextual focus.
The Maximizing Innovator: How Decision Making Styles Influence Innovation Behavior
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Brandon Soltwisch
Innovation behavior is the tendency to apply new ideas and approaches in the workplace. It has been associated with individual and organizational effectiveness in a variety of settings (Woodman, Sawyer, & Griffin, 1993, Janssen & Huang, 2008). Van de Van (1986) has noted that individuals become less aware of the need for change as they acclimate to their work environments over time. A recent development in the organizational psychology literature has begun to measure individual differences in preferences toward information search when making decisions (Schwarz 2002). Individuals who maximize strive to make the best possible choice by considering all potential alternatives. These individuals spend more time and effort to gather information. They are more likely to seek advice from experts, family and friends, and have a desire to explore options beyond what is currently available. Satisficers, on the other hand, are less likely to spend additional time and effort to explore new possibilities, as they tend to settle for options that meet their minimum criteria. This study investigated how decision-making styles (maximizing or satisficing) influence employees’ innovation behavior and entrepreneurial tendencies in a sample of 205 working adults. The results suggest that maximizers are more innovative, utilize an open-minded thinking strategy, and are more inclined to pursue entrepreneurial activities within and outside their careers. These findings lay the groundwork for new research on innovation and change management. They also provide useful advice to practitioners on how to develop a more innovative workforce.
Framework for Transformational Thinking
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session James MacGregor, Bart Cunningham
There seems to be general agreement that the people managing our public and private organizations are increasingly challenged by the rate of change and complexity of the problems they face. Managing change requires changing routines and potentially reinventing oneself as new needs cannot be served with older practices. Can we learn more about how we might more easily transform ourselves, our organizations and society to address the problems we face? The rate of change is underlined by expectations and predictions that future changes will occur at an exponential increase, like Alvin Toffler’s description of future shock in 1970. He offered a prognosis of a future of stress and disorientation of because of changes which are difficult to control are occurring in too short a time, and they will feel like a culture-shock of moving in an entirely different context. The literature on change generally points to many challenges and failures. Given this context, there are strong pressures for transformational change in response to global competition, downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions, the complexity of solving wicked problems, and the growth of new technologies are driving forces that point to the need to explore ways to improve our implementations. Recognizing this need, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework describing transformational thinking and change which recognizes the possible connections between individual, organizational and societal transformations. Within this purpose, the paper highlights how the context affects how people respond at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.
