International Journal of Innovation Science

Niroumand, Marjan; Shahin, Arash; Naghsh, Amirreza; Peikari, Hamid Reza

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-10-2019-0099

This paper aims to propose a framework for the dimensions of frugal innovation enablers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachA mixed research approach has been applied. First, by a comprehensive literature review, the most important factors influencing frugal innovation have been identified. Then, an interview has been conducted with 18 experts who were selected by snowball sampling method. In the next step, all identified variables have been modified in a questionnaire with 48 factors, which were distributed to 200 employees and managers of SMEs in the home appliance manufacturing industry of Isfahan province, who were selected by non-random sampling. Data has been analyzed using SPSS-25 software for exploratory factor analysis.FindingsFindings indicated that the most important enablers of frugal innovation are world-class design, human aspect, marketing, support, knowledge, social aspect, prototyping, cultural aspect, environmental aspect, distinct brand creation, core functions focus, local R&D, cost-cutting business model and low-cost production.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework provides an effective basis to managers and decision-makers in the field of frugal innovation to evaluate their capabilities in implementing frugal innovation, the results of which are helpful in developing a roadmap for achieving frugal innovation in SMEs and particularly in home appliance manufacturing companies.Originality/valueThe comprehensive framework of this study has not been applied, developed or studied in the literature. The proposed framework provides new insights for future studies on the subject of frugal innovation, e.g. investigating the influence of frugal innovation on frugal innovation performance.

Oduro, Stephen

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-11-2018-0119

Open innovation (OI) is now recognized as one essential innovation paradigm to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) quell their liability of newness and smallness. However, little is known about SMEs’ OI barriers, particularly in emerging economies. Drawing on both network and transaction cost theory, this study aims to explore the barriers to SMEs’ OI adoption in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted an exploratory sequential research design that involved both qualitative and quantitative study methodologies. A total of 644 responses (21 survey interviews and 623 usable questionnaires) across SMEs in Ghana were collected and analyzed in the study. A qualitative analysis involving quotations extracted from the respondent’s statement was used to present the qualitative findings, whereas SEM-partial least square, co-variance approach, was used to analyze the formulated hypotheses.FindingsResults show that significant barriers to SMEs OI adoption are collaboration barriers – difficulty in finding the right partners and problems of cooperation and coordination of operational functions; organizational barriers – lack of flexible internal procedures and structures and organizational inertia; and strategic barriers – opportunistic behavior of partners and lack of strategic and resource fit. Contrary to existing findings, financial and knowledge barriers were disclosed as driving factors, rather than barriers, to SMEs’ OI adoption; these findings challenge conventional thinking about SMEs’ major OI barriers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on only SMEs in one emerging economy, namely, Ghana, which may limit the generalization of the findings.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study, while limited to Ghana, offer useful insights to SMEs managers, development practitioners and policymakers respecting the overall importance of the OI model, its associated impediments, as well as the strategic measures to quell those barriers.Originality/valueThis study provides a pioneering empirical investigation into the main barriers to SMEs’ OI adoption in a less-explored emerging market context through a mixed research approach.

El Hilali, Wail; El Manouar, Abdellah; Janati Idrissi, Mohammed Abdou

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-08-2019-0083

In a world where big data have become crucial to guarantee the success of companies, digital transformation came to help companies transition towards a digital business and accept the changes in the organizational structure as well as the market. Nonetheless, even with the ever-growing importance shed on it, few articles and studies have linked it to the sustainability paradigm. Empirical studies that have linked between the factors of digital transformation and a more sustainable business are still scant. Many efforts are still needed to reduce the knowledge gap between these two concepts. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by examining (empirically) the effect of digital transformation on sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe study validates five different hypotheses highlighted by the literature using structural equation model (SEM) analysis from partial least square (PLS) approach. It uses a new conceptual framework using a survey data, answered by 41 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco from different industries.FindingsUsing PLS-SEM modeling, the results show that customers, data and innovation, which are drivers that companies should work on during a digital transformation, have a significant impact on companies’ quest to reach sustainability. However, and in contrast to the existing literature, authors find that competition did not play a significant role in enhancing the companies’ commitment to sustainability.Practical implicationsAuthors’ findings encourage firms to seize the opportunity of digital transformation to embrace sustainability, because the implementation of these two concepts requires radical changes at the business model level. Authors suggest that the road to achieve sustainability in a digital era should focus on three main axes, enhancing the customer experience and adopting customer centricity, building data analytics capabilities and shifting innovation to the business model level.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first research papers that explain how to reach sustainability during a digital transformation. The originality of this paper lies in the fact that it focuses on SMEs as they remain the backbone of the Moroccan economy. This study is also novel for showing with empirical evidences that working on the axes of customers, data and innovation, during a digital transformation journey, will improve sustainable practices within businesses.

Maldonado-Guzmán, Gonzalo; Garza-Reyes, Jose Arturo

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-10-2019-0094

Eco-innovation is a relatively recent construct in the literature, which nowadays more and more researchers and academics consider as one of the strategies that generate a higher level of sustainable and business performance. However, little is known about the influence of eco-innovation practices on sustainable performance and business performance, particularly in the automotive and auto parts industry. Therefore, this paper aims to fill this knowledge gap and explore the aforementioned interdependence.Design/methodology/approachThe influence of eco-innovation practices on sustainable performance and business performance is investigated through a research framework consisting of 5 constructs, 25 items and 6 hypotheses derived from an extensive review of the literature. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 460 companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. The data were analyzed through a confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results obtained indicated that eco-innovation practices have a positive influence on both sustainable performance and business performance in the automotive and auto parts industry.Originality/valueThis paper provides further insightful evidence of the influence of eco-innovation practices on sustainable performance and business performance, particularly in the automotive and auto parts industry.

Milner, Karen

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-03-2019-0032

The purpose of this paper is to document and analyse the processes underpinning the Southern African Social Innovation Camp (the Camp). This paper details the theoretical basis on which the Camp was designed and assesses the ways in which the participants experienced the camp in light of these theoretical principles.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design was used with four sources of data: participant reviews of the Camp, in-depth interviews with stakeholders, the researcher’s field notes and a reflective blog posted online by one of the participants. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.FindingsThree themes emerged from the analysis. The Camp as a foreign but safe space that moves people out of their comfort zones, enabling innovative thinking; the importance of discipline and rigour in self-organising groups; and the interplay of diversity feedback and trust/mistrust. The theoretical principles which informed the design of the Camp were clearly evident in these themes.Research limitations/implicationsNo evaluation of the degree of innovativeness/quality of the prototypes. While the focus of the study was on participants’ experiences, a clearer indicator of the innovativeness and usefulness of the prototypes would have provided greater insight.Originality/valueThe study describes a theoretical framework for designing innovation groups and establishes the usefulness of the framework for analysing the group processes. Based on the results, recommendations for effective functioning in innovation groups are proposed: group diversification; discipline and rigour in group facilitation; vigilance in eliminating hierarchy; and managing the interplay between diversity, feedback and trust.

Lee, Demei

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-08-2019-0082

Novel engineering designs are usually infeasible for manufacturing or fail to meet the required performance. The dissimilar functionalities and mindsets between design and manufacturing pose challenges, as well as opportunities for innovation projects. This paper aims to report the innovation process that prototyped a novel engineering design of a haptic device in an engineering research lab. The innovation process went through several design generations. Interaction between design and manufacturing drove the innovation toward both better and worse directions between generations.Design/methodology/approachUsing the case research method, the steps of theoretical proposition development, case selection, data collection, data analysis and theory modification were followed. By interviewing the key persons, the characteristics, issues and recommendations for improvement of the innovation process were identified.FindingsIt was found that technical issues were not the hurdles in the innovation process. Instead, managing the inter-organizational mechanism proved critical to its eventual success. The educational gap between the design and manufacturing groups gave rise to communicational and perceptional distance, while the gap in terms of work experience between the two groups enlarged that distance.Research limitations/implicationsThe research results may be limited to cases with similar organizational and technological contexts.Practical implicationsWithin an organization, the design and the manufacturing divisions are separated by a functional gap. The functional gap should be managed with multiple views, namely, technical, personal and organizational perspectives. The identified innovation process could help bridge such a gap and facilitate innovative engineering designs in research institutes.Originality/valueThe effectiveness of the innovation process was, thus, found to be determined by the positive or negative reinforcement of these two gaps between the design and manufacturing of the research institute.

Schoellhammer, Sarah; Gibb, Stephen

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-03-2019-0023

This paper aims to develop a model of collective innovation, with respect to innovation strategy, structure and culture in heterarchies. The enabling of collective innovation in heterarchies is conceptualised as “responsible exposure”.Design/methodology/approachA study adopting cross-case analysis was undertaken with five organisations perceived to have heterarchical characteristics. These included one small company, two medium-sized companies and two larger companies, all were European. Data from semi-structured interviews, a survey of staff and other sources provide evidence of collective innovation practices.FindingsThe cross-case analysis suggests that the management of collective innovation is different from “classic” innovation management. It is more about enabling “responsible exposure” than the management of “shelter” for collective innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThe strength of cross-case analysis and conceptual framework validation is limited by the cases being all from the European region.Practical implicationsWhat strategy, structure and culture for “responsible exposure” may mean can be described. Heterarchies will always be relatively rare, though lessons from how they enable collective innovation can be more widely learned. Lessons for the wider population of organisation that combine hierarchical and heterarchical characteristics and seek greater innovation are identified.Social implicationsCollective innovation, which requires “responsible exposure” has implications for the capabilities of managers and professionals concerned with innovation.Originality/valueThe cross-case analysis of innovation in heterarchies is original, leading to the description of a model of “responsible exposure” for collective innovation.

Rasti Borazjani Faghat, Ebrahim; Khani, Naser; Alemtabriz, Akbar

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-07-2019-0074

The purpose of this paper is to propose a paradigmatic model for shared value innovation management in the supply chain. This research seeks to identify the causal conditions, strategies, contextual factors, intervening factors and the consequences of shared value innovation in the supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThe approach of this research is qualitative and has been carried out in the framework of the grounded theory. Required data for the research was collected through semi-structured interviews. Coding was done in two steps and the reliability of the results of the research was confirmed by calculating the similarity index of codes by two methods.FindingsThe proposed framework is presented in the form of a paradigmatic model and demonstrates how to achieve shared value innovation through increasing adoption with customer considerations, improving communication between supply chain members, improving collaboration among supply chain members, enhancing trust among supply chain members, enhancing the commitment of the supply chain members, enhancing supply chain members’ interdependence while maintaining their independence and simultaneously reducing costs. The results of the analysis showed that the shared value innovation leads to positive consequences such as increasing competitive abilities, human development, synergy, inclusive growth and development and also the sustainability of the business situation.Originality/valueAlthough some studies have shown the importance of value innovation in different parts of the organization and to some extent the introduction of shared value innovation, no research has been done to provide a framework or model for managing shared value innovation.