European Journal of Innovation Management

Windrum, Paul; Schartinger, Doris; Rubalcaba, Luis; Gallouj, Faiz; Toivonen, Marja

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-05-2015-0033pmid: N/A

Purpose– The research fields of service innovation and social innovation have, until now, been largely disconnected. At the most basic level, a great many social innovations are services, often public sector services with social entrepreneurs organizing and delivering service innovations. As well as this overlap in the focus of research, scholars in both research fields address socio-economic concerns using multidisciplinary perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework that can bridge the two research fields. Design/methodology/approach– Inter-linkages between service and social innovation are shown by identifying research areas in which both find a joint heuristic field. This approach has been illustrated in a set of case studies in the health sector in Europe. Findings– The bridge between social innovation and service innovation research can be built when social innovation is examined through a multi-agent framework. The authors focus on social innovations where the co-creation of novel services is guided by the prominent position taken by citizens, social entrepreneurs or third sector organizations (NGOs or charities) in the innovation process. Of particular interest are the ways in which the interests of individual users and citizens are “represented” by third sector organizations. Practical implications– The case study of the Austrian nationwide public access defibrillation programme provides an exemplar of the process of co-creation by which this social innovation was developed, implemented and sustained. Here the Austrian Red Cross acted on behalf of citizens, organizing an innovation network capable of creating both the demand and the supply side of a sustainable market for the production and safe application of portable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in Austria. This process involved, first, raising public awareness of the need for portable defibrillators and acting as a user representative when inducing changes in the design of portable AEDs. Later, there was the institutionalization of AED training in every first aid training in Austria, work with local manufacturers to produce this device, and with large user organizations to install AEDs on their premises. Originality/value– The paper develops multi-agent model of innovation that enables one to synthesize key concepts in social and service innovation literatures and, thereby, examine the dynamics of invention and diffusion of social innovations.

Ganzaroli, Andrea; De Noni, Ivan; Orsi, Luigi; Belussi, Fiorenza

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-08-2014-0092pmid: N/A

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined effect of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) partners’ technological relatedness and the acquirer’s effective utilization of the target’s knowledge on explorative and exploitative invention performance post-M&A. Design/methodology/approach– Based on the knowledge perspective of an M&A, this study measures how much of the target’s knowledge acquired in an M&A has been effectively transformed into new knowledge. A negative binomial regression on a cross-sectional data set of 152 bio-pharmaceutical firms (59 European firms and 93 North American firms) completing at least one M&A in the period between 2001 and 2005 is conducted. The effect of knowledge utilization is assessed by comparing performance six years before the M&A and six years after. Findings– The effective assimilation and utilization of acquired knowledge positively affects both acquirers’ explorative and exploitative performance post-M&As. The combined effect with technological relatedness, measured as similarity and complementarity, further enhances the acquirer’s technological performance. However, while the utilization of similar knowledge significantly affects only exploitative invention performance, the utilization of complementary knowledge influences both, although explorative more than exploitative performance. Originality/value– The acquirer’s ability to effectively use the target’s knowledge is crucial in order to support the transformation of the inventive potential, such as is embodied in the interaction between an internal and an external base of knowledge, into new explorative and exploitative performance.

Poutanen, Petro; Soliman, Wael; Ståhle, Pirjo

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-03-2014-0036pmid: N/A

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the innovation literature, with special focus on studies applying a complexity perspective. As a contribution in its own right to the innovation literature, the review clarifies the concept of complexity, explores possible points of relevance and the “added value” gained from complexity theory (CT) to the study of innovation, and identifies some of the applications of the theory. Design/methodology/approach– A literature search was conducted which yielded 20 relevant articles. These articles were analyzed by focusing on the key concepts of complexity and studying their applications in the context of innovation research. Findings– Based on the approach adopted, the literature was divided into three categories, namely research focusing on microdynamics, macrodynamics, and leadership and management. The key complexity concepts identified in the innovation literature were “edge of chaos”, “phase shift”, “emergence and self-organization”, “(co)evolution”, and “complexity regulation”. The articles reviewed differed in terms of their perspectives on complexity and, accordingly, their operationalization of the complexity concepts. Key areas of development suggested by the authors include forging a stronger link with existing innovation theory and giving greater weight to empirical evidence. Research limitations/implications– While a systematic review strategy was adopted to identify all relevant research on “open innovation” and complexity, a selective snowball strategy was deemed the only feasible approach to cover research conducted on “innovation” and complexity. Practical implications– Practitioners can learn to put CT-based research in context and also learn to recognize the value of CT for innovation management. The authors distilled three important lessons for practice from the research done: embracing complexity, embracing ambidexterity, and embracing failure. Originality/value– To the best of the authors’ knowledge no review has as yet been undertaken to encapsulate the current state of applications of CT to innovation research.

Roach, David C.; Ryman, Joel A.; Makani, Joyline

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-12-2014-0119pmid: N/A

Purpose– Ever since Sarasvathy’s (2001) seminal article, scholars have sought to test effectuation’s affect on firm performance. Although recent work has begun the arduous process of testing effectuation’s effect on entrepreneurial performance, there is still much to learn about its impact on firm performance. One such area is the relationship between effectuation and innovation. The purpose of this paper is to first, propose a scale suitable to the explication of the effectuation construct relative to innovation. Second, it proposes a more parsimonious scale for the measurement of innovation. Third, these scales are tested relative to firm performance. Design/methodology/approach– This paper develops and tests a structural model, which investigates aspects of effectuation as mediators between innovation orientation and product/service innovation. This is accomplished using a sample of 169 electronic product manufacturing-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Subjective measures of performance are used as the dependent variable. Findings– The three most widely used measures of innovativeness were found to break cleanly into two sub-constructs, namely innovation orientation and product/service innovation. Effectuation measures included means (who I know), leverage contingencies (experimentation), pre-commitments and affordable loss. Means and leverage contingencies were found to positively mediate innovation orientation and product/service innovation leading to increased firm performance. Affordable loss did not show a mediating role, but had a direct effect on firm performance. Research limitations/implications– This study establishes two distinct sub-constructs of firm-level innovation; namely innovation orientation and product/service innovation. Second, by testing an innovation-centric effectuation model, this research establishes an empirical relationship between effectuation, innovation and firm performance. Practical implications– Practical implications include establishing a relationship between means, leverage contingencies and innovation-performance, indicating that the ways through which small and medium-sized enterprises use their innovation networks may affect innovation outcomes and ultimately firm performance. Originality/value– This research establishes an empirical relationship between effectuation, innovation and firm performance, extending effectuation theory from the entrepreneurship to the innovation literature.

Amar, A D; Hlupic, Vlatka

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-12-2014-0120pmid: N/A

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to give some theoretical foundation to leadership function and style for managing knowledge workers whose work, by definition, is non-routine, thrives on innovation, and places a special demand on autonomy for its execution. Design/methodology/approach– Extant search of literature to look for evidence supporting successful leadership theories and practices that are shown to improve performance of knowledge workers. Synthesis of findings to structure a framework in the form of major propositions for their testing by future research. Findings– The authors begin with establishing the first finding that states that leadership of knowledge organizations is different from the leadership of traditional organizations. Then the authors build six additional findings for shaping a successful leadership process for knowledge organizations. Research limitations/implications– Since it is a theoretical paper built on a search of literature in the field of leadership, there is a need to empirically test the findings to give them their final shape. Each of the seven propositions in this paper would result into many hypotheses that should initiate several empirical studies. Practical implications– The authors consider individual and organizational/group contexts of the leadership proposed here, and also provide recommendations for carrying out this research further. While the paper is written more specifically with regard to the leadership of knowledge organizations where its findings should be fully implantable, however, to some extent, they would apply to all organizations. Social implications– Leadership is a ubiquitous social phenomenon. It affects not only organizations, but also every aspect of human activity. This paper is an attempt to alter the fundamental thinking of leaders, suggesting to not to use authority, and instead, to allow everyone connected with the task the opportunity to lead. This shift in leadership paradigm will have an impact on the behavior of all involved, and steadily, will bring a change in the norms of social behavior. Originality/value– This paper is a move toward giving the knowledge organization leadership some theoretical framework, as it is still in a state of flux in spite of attracting a lot of research.

Papageorgiadis, Nikolaos; Alexiou, Constantinos; Nellis, Joseph G

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-03-2015-0014pmid: N/A

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the instrumental role that copyright and trademark enforcement strength plays in stimulating licensing flows in 21 countries. Design/methodology/approach– In so doing, panel data methodology serves as the empirical platform upon which the investigation between the trademark and copyright enforcement strength levels of 21 countries and the choice between unaffiliated and affiliated licensing of US firms for the period 1998-2011 is conducted. Findings– The evidence suggests that both copyright and trademark enforcement strength have a highly significant effect on licensing and, more specifically, that stronger levels of enforcement stimulate higher levels of unaffiliated licensing. Originality/value– The authors use the two longitudinal indices of copyright and trademark enforcement strength which capture the effectiveness and efficiency with which copyrights and trademarks are enforced in 21 countries.

Kumar, Vijay; Sundarraj, Rangaraja P

doi: 10.1108/EJIM-05-2015-0034pmid: N/A

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to determine how different innovation patterns affect the financial performance of global technological firms. Design/methodology/approach– The authors integrate the theories of innovation performance with those of Schumpeter’s innovation patterns, namely, creative destruction and creative accumulation. Data spread over 20 years is used to investigate the influence of innovation on the firm performance. Findings– Panel regression results indicate that, as compared to creative-destruction innovation, creative-accumulation patterns have a better firm performance, have a moderating effect on innovation-performance relationships, and have a better propensity to deal with difficult economic periods. Research limitations/implications– There is a scarcity of research that considers the effects of Schumpeterian patterns on innovation performance, especially ones dealing with the technology sector. Future work could consider other innovation variables (besides innovation patterns), as well as whether the results hold in other sectors. Practical implications– The findings indicate that in the tech-sector firms must continue to innovate. Originality/value– From the research perspective, the work integrates two streams of literature into a comprehensive model, and provides a holistic test for it. For tech-sector managers, the research provides one point of motivation for carrying out innovation even during a troubled economy.