Innovation in project-based firms: The context dependency of success factors

Innovation management literature typically concerns functionally organized firms. In this paper we investigate innovation management in a different type of firm, the project-based firm. Project-based firms, such as engineering and construction companies, consultancies and system integrators, are service firms that solely execute projects for clients. We focus on new service development projects in these firms. Based on an in-depth study of six projects in four different firms, we develop hypotheses on differences between success factors for development projects in project-based firms and in functionally organized firms. Some of the success factors for functionally organized firms, as described in the literature, appear to be more important in project-based firms, others seem redundant. Our findings suggest that the specific structure and capabilities of project-based firms provide an explanation for these differences.     

Product innovation rumors as forms of open innovation

Prior studies of open innovation have highlighted the effects of different flows of knowledge between firms and external partners—such as flows of software code, technical solutions, or new product ideas—and how firms face a “paradox of openness” about how open to be to external sources while also appropriating value. There are increasingly flows of more provisional knowledge as well, in the form of product innovation rumors exchanged within online technology blogs. Our study objective was to understand how product innovation rumors are used by firms as both inflows and outflows of provisional knowledge and their effect on the innovation process. Using interview data within a high-technology firm whose forthcoming products were the subject of rumor within technology blogs, we develop propositions regarding how inflows of product innovation rumors affect innovation decisions (while addressing concerns about appropriability and intrafirm knowledge flows) and how outflows from firms may affect stakeholders outside the firm (through selective revealing and influence of technology blog editors). Product innovation rumors in part address the paradox of openness by forming an informal means of open innovation alongside formal processes, and we suggest further research opportunities in this domain.     

Making knowledge visible: Using expert yellow pages to map capabilities in professional services firms

Professional services firms survive by exploiting the skills and knowledge of their employees to deliver a range of projects for clients. As a result of working on these projects, an organization's capabilities evolve in unpredictable and often divergent ways. In order to help their staff conduct these projects, services firms have invested heavily in knowledge management systems. To date, few attempts have been made to use the information contained in these knowledge management systems to understand the nature and evolution of capabilities in professional services firms. Using the expert yellow pages of Arup, one of the world's leading engineering consultancies, we develop a new approach based on co-word and proximity analysis to map the knowledge and skills of professional services firms. This approach provides a mechanism to allow such firms to better understand what they know and help them to deploy their skills in new and potentially lucrative ways.     

顾客参与和服务创新关系研究:基于服务过程中知识转移的视角

顾客是服务企业重要的创新思想来源,顾客与企业之间的互动过程会影响到服务创新绩效。在服务交互的情景下,基于知识转移的视角,提出了顾客参与的三个维度如何影响顾客知识转移,并进一步影响服务创新绩效的研究框架,揭示了顾客参与服务过程与服务创新绩效的关系。     

Practicing secrecy in open innovation – The case of a military firm

In order to keep up with the pace of innovation, military firms have recently launched a series of open innovation (OI) initiatives to search for and integrate external knowledge into their internal development process. Adopting OI in such a secretive environment unlocks new possibilities to analyze how firms can pursue openness and secrecy. This article builds on a qualitative research conducted inside a large military firm that has implemented an inbound OI strategy. Relying on multiple case studies and interviews with individual players involved in the firm's OI initiatives, we analyzed how these players deploy secrecy practices when participating to OI projects. They actually combine cognitive practices (aiming at modulating the contextual depth of the knowledge revealed through reframing) with relational practices (aiming at controlling the visibility and exposure of this knowledge). We highlight how these combinations evolve during the lifecycle of OI partnerships. By emphasizing different modes by which individual actors practice secrecy in OI, we contribute to previous research addressing how organizations navigate the paradox of openness. Besides, this study proposes new theoretical insights on the role and features of secrecy practices in innovation activities, and thus contributes to the emerging research field of managerial secrecy.     

Suppliers versus start-ups: Where do better innovation ideas come from?

In the innovation process of firms, suppliers increasingly play a key role as external sources of ideas. Although the beneficial impact of supplier integration has been acknowledged, there is also evidence that not all such innovation efforts are successful, particularly regarding the identification of truly innovative solutions. Therefore, in recent years, large firms have begun to move beyond their existing supply base, drawing on innovation ideas from start-ups, that is, with young firms with whom they have no pre-existing bonds. Yet there is no empirical evidence regarding whether start-ups’ ideas actually outperform those of established suppliers. We address this question by presenting a unique, real-world comparison of 314 supplier and start-up ideas – ideas that were identified, evaluated, and followed up over the course of an open innovation initiative conducted by a large automotive manufacturer. We find that start-ups’ ideas are characterized by a higher degree of novelty and to some extent higher benefit for end customers but, on the downside, are less likely to be implemented than suppliers’ ideas. Overall, our study adds new dimensions to the discourse on open innovation and provides valuable insights regarding the outcome of supplier and start-up involvement in the front end of the innovation process.     

后发企业基于科学的创新机会研究

采用多案例研究方法,探索在后发企业参与下从科学发现到创新实现,再到创新扩散过程中基于科学的创新机会的动态演进规律,发现基于科学的机会的形成和发展来自外部环境因素和后发企业内部努力的共同作用,其经历了科学发现的机缘产生、参与新兴科学研究的机遇形成、创新机会创造、创新机会释放、新一轮科学发现的机缘产生五个阶段。创新机会在形成和发展过程中各阶段的不同形态和特征决定了后发企业在不同阶段相应的行动要点,其具有“节奏性”和“序贯性”的特点。研究表明,在基于科学的创新中后发企业要充分认识“抢占先机”对创新总体局势的决定性作用,并通过跨学科、跨应用领域的融通发展,深度挖掘“显性机会”释放的“潜在机会”。     

新能源汽车产业政府补助与市场融资的创新激励效应

本文选取2015-2018年新能源汽车产业110家上市公司面板数据,探索政府补助与市场融资及其协同配合对企业研发创新影响的差异性。结果显示,新能源汽车产业政府补助对企业研发创新具有显著激励效应,市场融资并未显著促进企业研发创新,政府补助与市场融资协同配合能有效促进新能源汽车产业研发创新。通过进一步研究发现,处于不同新能源汽车产业链阶段的企业,政府补助对中上游企业研发创新的激励效应更大,而市场融资对下游企业研发创新的激励效应更大,政府补助与市场融资协同配合对中上游企业研发创新的激励效应更大。同时,相对于国有企业,新能源汽车产业政府补助与市场融资及其两者协同配合对非国有企业研发创新的激励效应更大。本文在一定程度上丰富了创新激励与政府干预理论,并为政府扶持新能源汽车产业精准设计创新政策提供理论指导。     

The relationship between research and innovation in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries (1981-1997)

This paper evaluates the impact of basic and applied research on innovation in two industries. Whereas innovation in the pharmaceutical industry is closely tied to both basic and applied research, innovation in the semiconductor industry depends mainly upon applied research. Surprisingly, many firms perform little basic research, but they produce many innovations. Within each industry, firms pursue different R&D strategies: firms that emphasize basic research absorb more basic scientific knowledge than those that emphasize applied research. These findings suggest that future research must carefully consider how industry context and the composition of R&D mediate the relationship between research and innovation.     

From closed to open: Job role changes,individual predispositions,and the adoption of commercial open source software development

When trying to attain the benefits of open source software (OSS), proprietary closed source software (PCSS) firms are struggling to adopt this radically different practice of software development. We approach these adoption challenges as a problem of gaining support for organizational innovation. Through a mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative interviews and a survey of employees of a large telecommunications firm, we find that the organizational innovation to commercially engage in OSS has different impacts on technical and administrative dimensions of different job roles. Accordingly, individuals enacting different job roles are—on average—more or less well aligned with the OSS practice and OSS processes per se. We find that individual-level attributes can counterbalance the job role changes that weaken support for adopting OSS, while perceived organizational commitment has no effect. Suggestions for PCSS firms are presented and implications for innovation literature are discussed.     

R&D strategy in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry

The adverse economic impacts of the 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act have transformed the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The key elements of this transformation include declining rates of innovation, huge increases in R&D costs and risks, lowered profitability, and an erosion of U.S. technological leadership. U.S. pharmaceutical firms must develop new, creative R&D strategies in order to cope with this complex and demanding environment. U.S. firms have responded to more stringent domestic regulation by sharply increasing both foreign R&D expenditures and initial clinical testing of new chemical entities at foreign locations.New patterns of project selection strategies have begun to emerge in the 1970s. As the total number of R&D projects has been cut back, pharmaceutical firms have focused resources on those disease areas with the highest epidemiological importance. To cope with the increasing riskiness of drug R&D firms have shifted dollars from research to development. Pharmaceutical firms are also likely to alter their strategies for discovering new drugs. As firms reduce explorative, basic research, more structured, engineering approaches will receive increased emphasis. Because individual drug companies are likely to have reduced capacity for originating drugs within their own laboratories, competition among firms for access to new compounds and research ideas is likely to in tensify.     

面向创新思维培养的机械原理教学探索

机械原理作为高等学校机械类专业的一门重要的技术基础课程,对于培养学生的机械综合设计能力,尤其是创新设计能力具有重要作用。本文围绕着学生创新思维培养目标在机械原理课程教学实践中进行了探索,在教学内容方面“提炼研究方法、建立知识结构”,在教学方法方面“注重知识引导、启发独立思考”,在教学宗旨方面“鼓励动手实践、培养创新思维”。本文总结教学改革的成果,以期通过与同行的交流探讨,进一步提高机械原理课程的教学质量,更好地培养学生的机械创新设计能力。     

Knowledge diversity and team creativity: How hobbyists beat professional designers in creating novel board games

This study adds to the literature on household sector (HHS) innovation by investigating how user and professional designer teams differ in their ability to translate knowledge diversity into collective creative output. We test our hypotheses on a unique data set of more than 5,000 board game design projects conducted by either teams of professional game designers or by hobbyist (user) designers. Our study lends support for the notion that knowledge diversity is a double-edged sword that has opposing effects on the two dimensions of team creativity, novelty and usefulness. We argue and find that teams composed of self-rewarded users in the household sector are better able than teams of professionals to translate the informational benefits of knowledge diversity into novel concepts and game designs. Finally, we find that user teams are in general more likely to create truly creative (i.e. novel and useful) game designs. This particular result emphasizes the relevance of research on HHS innovation and shows that user designers from the HHS are able to conduct collective development work more effectively than teams of professional designers.     

核心技术、互补资产与后发企业的超越追赶

核心技术与互补资产是后发追赶过程中两种不同的主导策略,后发企业往往面临两种策略如何选择与平衡的难题。本文通过海天塑机集团2001~2017年在全电动注塑机技术领域追赶的案例研究,发现后发企业由后二次创新向一次创新的超越追赶动态过程中,主导追赶策略经历了从核心技术到互补资产再到二者并重的演化;从组织双元视角看,在该过程中,企业经历了从探索与利用序列交替的间断型平衡模式向探索与利用共时进行的双元型平衡模式的转变。本文研究发现不仅揭示了后发企业从后二次创新向一次创新的超越追赶机制,同时深化了我们对后发追赶动态性的理解。     

CEO类型与家族企业双元创新——基于中国上市家族企业的经验证据

双元创新对家族企业的价值提升与长期发展至关重要。本文以2012—2019年中国沪深两市A股上市家族企业为研究样本,实证研究了不同类型CEO对家族企业双元创新的影响。研究发现：家族创始人CEO会促进探索式创新和利用式创新;与家族创始人CEO相比,继任者CEO会抑制家族企业创新,具体来说,继任家族成员CEO会抑制利用式创新,而职业经理人CEO会抑制探索式创新。进一步研究发现：创始人CEO会促进利用式创新的相对投入,而继任家族成员CEO则会抑制利用式创新的相对投入;与继任家族成员CEO相比,职业经理人CEO会抑制探索式创新而促进利用式创新;CEO任期和海外经历会抑制职业经理人CEO对探索式创新的负向影响,而CEO持股和海外经历则会抑制职业经理人CEO对利用式创新的正向影响。本文不仅揭示了不同类型CEO影响家族企业双元创新的差异性,亦为家族企业如何平衡探索式创新和利用式创新提供了经验证据与管理启示。     

Organisational learning antecedents and open innovation: Differences in internationalisation level

The aim of this study is to inspect differences in internationalisation level of firms from a transitional economy based on their innovation outcomes, open innovation and organisational learning practices. Results indicate that firms with lower internationalisation level owe their innovation success to coupled and outbound open innovation practices that originate from market research, competitor tracking and public information. Mediating effect of outbound innovation is present in the relationship between market research and innovation success. Firms with higher internationalisation level do not exhibit significant effect of open innovation on innovation success, but their organisational learning antecedents such as market research and research and development negatively affect innovation success, while public information and forecasting have a significant positive effect on innovation success. The major contribution of this study is the understanding of how organisational learning antecedents and open innovation practices interact in firms with different internationalisation levels, whereby firms with higher internationalisation level already have competitive advantage that lower internationalisation firms need to achieve.     

The venturesome economy: how innovation sustains prosperity in a more connected world

Tim Kastelle is a senior lecturer in innovation management at University of Queensland Business School (UQBS). He is managing editor of Innovation: Management, Policy &; Practice, the leader of the UQBS executive education and MBA innovation programs, and does research and consulting on the topic of management of innovation.

John Steen is a senior lecturer in strategy at UQBS. He currently holds an Australian Research Council grant to examine innovation in capital-intensive and project-based firms. He has published in a variety of strategy and innovation journals, but does not refer to any of them when he is talking to managers.     

The paradox of openness: Appropriability,external search and collaboration

To innovate, firms often need to draw from, and collaborate with, a large number of actors from outside their organization. At the same time, firms need also to be focused on capturing the returns from their innovative ideas. This gives rise to a paradox of openness—the creation of innovations often requires openness, but the commercialization of innovations requires protection. Based on econometric analysis of data from a UK innovation survey, we find a concave relationship between firms’ breadth of external search and formal collaboration for innovation, and the strength of the firms’ appropriability strategies. We show that this concave relationship is stronger for breadth of formal collaboration than for external search. There is also partial evidence suggesting that the relationship is less pronounced for both external search and formal collaboration if firms do not draw ideas from or collaborate with competitors. We explore the implications of these findings for the literature on open innovation and innovation strategy.     

Ecological community logics,identifiable business ownership,and green innovation as a company response

We investigate which companies are more inclined to respond with green innovation to ecological community logics. We propose that the noneconomic utility of doing so – in the form of personal reputation gains for business owners – is greater when owner identifiability is higher, and that owner identifiability therefore intensifies the effect of normative ecological community pressures on firm-level green innovation. Our hypotheses are tested on a sample of over 2800 German firms using instrumental variable regression analyses and we find empirical support for our ideas. This study advances the institutional sustainability literature by explaining how community- and firm-level attributes interact to account for heterogeneity in firms' green innovation activities.     

Recent results in measuring innovation output

The Fraunhofer-Institut für Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI) is at present engaged in evaluating a number of technology policy programs designed to promote research, development and innovation in small and medium-sized firms. These studies try to determine the extent to which these programmes have an impact upon the innovative activities of firms.In this connection, it was also attempted to measure the innovation output. The level of innovation of a firm is innovation ouput. The level of innovation of a firm is procedure involves a number of problems (self-assessment of firms in view of insufficient market transparency, distortion due to self-portraits reflecting the firms' own interests). We tried to mitigate such distortions by two approaches. Firstly, firms were asked for their technologically new products, the term “new” being applied (a) to the firm and (b) to the areas of product application. As a result of this two-tier procedure, firms supplied rather realistic answers. Secondly, supplementary questions were asked about sales figures, the competitive technological situation (nationally and internationally), expenditure on R&D, patents, stages of innovation, aims of innovation, etc.The paper presents the results obtained to date on the innovation output of firms within the framework of an evaluation of the largest programme at present devoted to promoting R&D and innovation in small and medium-sized firms . The results are based on a representative sample of approximately 4,500 small and medium-sized firms (up to 1,00 employees) with R&D activities in the Federal Republic of Germany.