Measuring Culture of Innovation: A Validation Study of the Innovation Quotient Instrument (Part One)

The ability for an organization to innovate has become one of the most important capabilities needed in the new knowledge economy. An organization's culture of innovation, in particular, predicts organizational innovativeness across multiple industries. While researchers have developed instruments to measure culture of innovation to inform organizational opportunities for improvement, few of these instruments have been validated or replicated beyond their initial use. The current article, which is part one of a two‐part investigation, employs confirmatory factor analytic methods to validate the factor structure of the six models defined in the Innovation Quotient instrument developed by Rao and Weintraub (2013) and assess the extent to which the models are reliable across organizational groups. While each model demonstrated adequate model fit, a lack of discriminant validity was identified for each model, as well as a lack of reliability across some organizational groups. Recommendations for model respecification are presented.     

Perceptions of innovativeness and communication about innovations: A study of three types of service organizations

It was hypothesized that the three types of service organizations identified by Mills and Margulies (1980) would exhibit differences with respect to perceived “innovation communication” (communication about innovations that may precede and/or accompany diffusion‐adoption processes) as well as differences in perceived individual innovativeness and perceived organizational innovativeness. Three questionnaire instruments were completed by 131 employees from nine organizations: one bank, six advertising firms and three schools. These organizations represented the Mills‐Margulies types of maintenance‐interactive, task‐interactive and personal‐interactive, respectively. While most directional hypotheses received partial or no support, differences emerged across organization types for both perceived innovation communication activity and perceived organizational innovativeness.     

IIMNOVATIVENESS AND RELATED FACTORS IN CANADA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study was designed to determine the extent to which innovative activities vary among Canada's community colleges and to what degree specific organizational characteristics correlate with institutional innovativeness. The hypotheses were derived from an extensive literature on innovation theory, largely centered in the private sector. The research methodology was modelled after organizational innovation studies in the structural‐functional paradigm.

Data on specific innovations, both initiated and implemented, together with a number of organizational variables, were gathered from a sample of fifteen community colleges across Canada. The results confirmed that innovativeness does vary among institutions and also correlates positively with concentrations of support function specialist positions and with levels of macro‐environmental funding for innovative activity. The study also confirmed that an inverse relationship exists between innovative activity and measures of centralization of authority.

In general, it was found that findings reached in studies of innovation involving private sector organizations were applicable to the community college sector.     

A Systems Approach to Identifying and Managing Opportunities and Constraints to Delivering Innovation Policy for Agriculture: An Analysis of the Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program

Abstract

In this paper we outline an analytical approach to identifying points in the policy process where management intervention to adjust organizational design could enhance delivery of innovation policy over time. We illustrate this approach using an example from native vegetation policy in the state of Victoria, Australia. We then use this approach to interpret recent reviews of the Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program, a policy instrument aimed at enhancing national economic growth by fostering innovation in research and development.

The approach described in this paper is grounded in the idea of policy as a complex and adaptive organizational system.

From the findings it was apparent that reviews of the Australian CRC Program have recognized some of its complex and dynamic properties. However, they have been limited in their capacity to translate this recognition into practical recommendations for organizational design to improve delivery on innovation, particularly in relation to the uptake of research outputs by industries such as agriculture. We propose that this is likely to reflect the bureaucratic foundations of innovation policy and the difficulties associated with changing processes and ways of managing them that have become locked in to the organizational system.

The design of policy instruments to deliver innovation, such as the CRC Program, should be informed by a detailed understanding of the dynamics that are mediating between policy objectives and outcomes over time. Dynamics such as the impact of bureaucratic constraints on the flexibility of policy processes and the participants engaged in them. In the absence of this sort of understanding, dynamics that critically affect the capacity of policy instruments to deliver innovation are likely to go unidentified and left to run their own course to an unpredictable and potentially counterproductive end.

While the idea of policy as a complex organizational system is well known, there remains a substantive gap in knowledge as to how thinking about policy in this way might be applied to generate practical options for improving organizational design. The analytical approach described in this paper addresses this gap in knowledge. In the absence of such approaches, the effectiveness of policy instruments such as the CRC Program, which are intended to foster innovation, will continue to be limited by deficiencies in organizational design.     

实验室文化创新机理研究

实验室文化创新既是实验室文化自身发展的本质诉求,也是实验室进一步发展的内在要求。从理念文化创新、制度文化创新和显性文化创新三个方面构建了实验室文化创新模型,并提出从实验室价值观、实验室使命、实验室制度文化、实验室行为文化和实验室物质文化五个方面实施实验室文化,有助于推动我国实验室的进一步发展。     

美国产学研协同创新联盟建设与经验——以I/UCRC模式为例

源于20世纪70年代的"产业/大学合作研究中心"现已发展成为美国最典型的产学研协同创新模式,并拓展为"州/产业/大学合作研究中心"模式。"产业/大学合作研究中心"协同创新模式在组织构成、组织管理和协同创新项目设计上都具有其明显优势,并在其长期发展中积累了丰富经验,这对我国产学研协同创新联盟建设具有重要借鉴价值。     

金融实验教学中创新项目设计研究

金融实验教学作为提高金融学及相关专业学生实践能力和创新能力的载体,其重要性已经为开设金融学及相关专业的高校所认识.但总体来看,金融实验教学内容还基本停留在模拟性项目和验证性项目的实验上,综合性、设计性和创新性实验项目还比较少.因此,基于创新型金融人才培养的视角,应大力加强金融实验教学建设,搭建金融实验教学平台,创造良好的金融实验条件,深化金融实验教学改革,拓展金融实验教学内容,拓展创新性实验项目.     

The role of organizational learning in transformational leadership and organizational innovation

Leadership is an important factor affecting organizational innovation. Many studies show that transformational leadership has positive and significant influence on organizational innovation. Based on a literature review and previous work, this study aims to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on organizational innovation and to examine whether organizational learning is a mediator between their relationships. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. The research sample consisted of 330 teachers in charge of administration in postsecondary schools. The findings of this study provide evidence that transformational leadership and organizational learning have significant positive relationship influence on organizational innovation. The research also demonstrates that there is significant effect on the role of mediation in organizational learning on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational innovation. The study suggests that if school principals use the strategies of transformational leadership and organizational learning at the same time, organizational learning was highly effectiveness to achieve organizational innovation in the postsecondary schools.     

麦肯锡7S模型与高职院校组织管理创新及实现——基于师生关系与师生冲突视角

麦肯锡7S模型是组织管理创新的有效工具,包括价值观、战略、结构、制度、人员、技能、风格等要素。通过增加环境要素和学习要素,可以构建组织管理创新9S模型,即价值观创新(以人为本、平等尊重)、战略创新(和谐管理、文化引领)、学习创新(预期性和参与性、自主性和整体性)、环境创新(视频工程、景象维护)、管理结构创新(柔性化、分权化、扁平化)、技术创新(管理网络化、信息共享化)、人员管理创新(管理现代化、技能专业化)、制度机制创新(全面管理、精益管理)、管理风格创新(文明管理、管理服务)。其基础是学校创新文化与创新制度,羽翼是创新元素与创新知识,主体是本件创新、硬件创新和软件创新的创新实现模型。     

Development of the nonverbal immediacy scale (NIS): Measures of self‐and other‐perceived nonverbal immediacy

In recent years nonverbal immediacy has received considerable attention from researchers concerned with instructional communication, interpersonal communication, and organizational communication. Unfortunately, the instruments used to measure nonverbal immediacy in these contexts sometimes have been problematic in terms of their reliability estimates. This research attempted to overcome this problem, or failing that, to identify the cause(s) of the reduced reliability. The research resulted in a scale with high reliability when used as either a self‐report or an other‐report measure. It was also found to be equally reliable across the contexts of instructional, interpersonal, and organizational communication. Content validity of the scale is good and an initial test of predictive validity produced a high validity correlation. Unexpected sex differences were observed in the results and these are discussed in this report.     

Leadership Perception

Multirater feedback, often called 360‐degree feedback, is a popular development and assessment tool, especially for organizational leaders. Raters from different organizational levels, including subordinates, boss, peers, and self, rate the leader's performance. However, there seldom is strong agreement across rater groups. This study used the data from a commercially available 360‐degree leader development feedback instrument and a second‐order confirmatory factor analysis model to try to explain the differences in ratings between the groups. Rather than an explanation of the differences, what was found were two second‐order factors that may be the underlying elements that all raters consider when observing leader performance.     

Networks as Policy Instruments for Innovation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to compare the effectiveness of facilitated networks to other policy instruments for agricultural innovation.

Design/ methodology/ approach: In an exploratory study of the Dutch agricultural policy context, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten experts on networks and innovation. Policy alternatives to networks included research funding, innovation experiments, knowledge vouchers for entrepreneurs, practice networks, competitions for awards/ prizes, innovation subsidies for individual entrepreneurs, legal exceptions, legislation and fiscalisation.

Findings: In early phases of the innovation process, facilitated networks were seen as more effective and cost-efficient than the other instruments. This was especially the case for system transformation. However, other instruments can have comparable performance for innovation when they result in sufficient network formation, for instance when they require that target groups build coalitions and other forms of networks. Networks were also seen as effective for system optimisation, but not more cost-efficient than other effective instruments.

Practical implications: Past policy experiences with networks enable moving beyond the generic term of ‘(facilitated) network’ to develop more advanced instruments for specific types and phases of innovation. Furthermore, the results suggest that facilitated networks may be a cost-effective alternative to the national extension services of old.

Originality/value: Many studies have shown the importance of networks for agricultural innovation. Furthermore, networks offer governments new opportunities to stimulate agricultural innovation. However, less is known about the effectiveness of networks as a policy instrument.     

论职教研究机构的组织文化创新

当前,我国职业教育研究工作已引起社会广泛关注,形成了一定的人员优势、成果优势与管理经验,但在研究取向与管理模式上还存在一定问题,其关键在于未能形成特有的组织文化。职教研究机构特色组织文化构建的核心元素是学术创新,包括创新学术管理的观念与模式,建立学术秩序,培养学术忠诚。     

知识管理与企业创新

知识管理是企业创新管理的重要基础,本文从企业创新概念出发,结合对组织知识管理的全面认识,分析了知识管理和企业创新的关系,通过模型解释知识管理如何通过基础环境、组织机制、信息技术和知识管理过程支持企业创新,并总结了相应的知识管理实践活动为企业实施创新提供指导。     

“创新”的中国文化渊源

创新是我们时代的主旋律，几乎各行各业都在谈创新，但中国创新的观念是如何形成如何演化的，其文化历史渊源是什么，却很少有关注，以致时人谈创新，多功利主义，而少文化精神，该文以《易传》为重点，论析了生生学说的核心内容，进而分析了中国传统文化的基本精神，揭示出创新观念的中国传统文化渊源。     

基于知识转移模型的创新团队管理对策研究

创新团队作为知识型组织需要知识管理。知识管理对提升创新团队的自主创新能力和竞争力起着十分重要的作用。通过构建知识转移双因素模型,剖析影响知识转移的因素,提出把知识管理纳入创新团队发展战略,塑造与知识管理良好互动的创新团队文化,建立创新团队知识联盟和知识转移评价机制等管理对策。     

School innovation in district context: Comparing traditional public schools and charter schools

Market reforms in education are part of the educational policy landscape in many countries. Central to arguments for market reforms is the idea that competition and choice will spur changes in schools to be more innovative, which in turn will lead to better student outcomes. We define innovation in terms of a practice's relative prevalence in a local district context. A charter school is innovative in its use of a practice if the traditional public schools in its local school district are not using that practice. We explore factors based on arguments for charter schools that may affect a charter schools’ propensity toward innovation to explain variation in levels of innovation across charter schools. We find that, on the whole, charter schools do not fulfill their promise of innovation. Teacher tenure is the most notable exception. Parental involvement is the only characteristic of charter schools that significantly predicts variation in levels of organizational innovativeness.     

基于多梯度创新团队建设的本科实践教学研究

对本科生创新能力的培养需要探索多种模式。针对适用于本科生加入科研团队、参与科研创新项目的实践教学活动进行了研究,提出多梯度创新团队建设的教学改革思路。采用本硕贯通联合多梯度教学实践团队的方式,整合教学资源,营建多梯度项目创新团队,着力培养多层次技术创新人才。项目创新实践活动取得了初步成果。本次改革使我校机电专业的本科创新实践活动增加了一种新模式,该模式可进一步推广到其他专业中,具有重要的实践意义。     

大众传媒组织文化的结构与功能分析——基于沙因组织文化模型的探讨

对于普通组织而言,组织文化是控制组织的重要因素之一;对于大众传媒组织而言,组织文化不仅仅是控制组织的重要因素,它植根于大众传媒的信息传播活动之中,潜藏在大众传媒生产的文化产品之内,它是影响社会主流文化构建的关键因素。沙因的组织文化模型自提出以来即被管理界奉为经典,更是学界进行组织文化研究的有力工具。沙因的组织文化模型同样适用于大众传媒组织文化的研究,运用这一模型探讨大众传媒组织文化的结构与功能是认识大众传媒组织文化实质的有效途径。