scholarly journals How do apprentices moderate the influence of organizational innovation on the technological innovation process?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Rupietta ◽  
Johannes Meuer ◽  
Uschi Backes-Gellner
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
External Change Agents

AbstractThis paper contributes to the literature on non-monetary benefits of Vocational Education and Training (VET) by investigating its influence on a firm’s innovation process. While an increasing number of studies finds positive effects of VET on innovation in firms, the role that apprentices play in this mechanism has largely been unexplored. To analyze this role, we use the distinction between technological and organizational innovation, two complementary forms of innovation. When investigating the initiators of organizational innovation, to date, research has primarily focused on internal and external change agents at upper echelons. We conceptualize apprentices as hybrid (a combination of internal and external) change agents at lower echelons. We examine how apprentices in the Swiss VET system are key to integrating external knowledge (through school-based education) with internal knowledge (through on-the-job training) and moderating the influence of organizational innovation on technological innovation. Drawing on a sample of 1240 firms from a representative Swiss Innovation Survey, we show that apprentices leverage the positive association between innovations in a firm’s business processes and organization of work with incremental innovations. With the description of a new mechanism that shows the significant role of apprentices on firms’ technological innovation activities and evidence for supportive associations between key variables, we contribute to the understanding of the influence of VET on innovation in firms.

Open Innovation

2021 ◽  
pp. 42-75
Author(s):  
Hakikur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Service Innovation ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Business Model Innovation ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Operational Management

While talking about successful entrepreneurship and value addition within an enterprise through innovation, one could comprehend that the innovation paradigm has been shifted from simple introduction of new thoughts and products to accumulation of diversified actions, actors, and agents along the process. Furthermore, when the innovation process is not being constrained within the closed nature of it, the process takes many forms during its evolution. Innovations have been seen as closed innovation or open innovation, depending on its nature of action, but contemporary world may have seen many forms of innovation, such as technological innovation, products/service innovation, process/production innovation, operational/management/organizational innovation, business model innovation, or disruptive innovation, though often they are robustly interrelated.

scholarly journals Opportunities to observe and measure intangible inputs to innovation: Definitions, operationalization, and examples

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (50) ◽  
pp. 12638-12645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sallie Keller ◽  
Gizem Korkmaz ◽  
Carol Robbins ◽  
Stephanie Shipp
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
First Case ◽  
Science Framework

Measuring the value of intangibles is not easy, because they are critical but usually invisible components of the innovation process. Today, access to nonsurvey data sources, such as administrative data and repositories captured on web pages, opens opportunities to create intangibles based on new sources of information and capture intangible innovations in new ways. Intangibles include ownership of innovative property and human resources that make a company unique but are currently unmeasured. For example, intangibles represent the value of a company’s databases and software, the tacit knowledge of their workers, and the investments in research and development (R&D) and design. Through two case studies, the challenges and processes to both create and measure intangibles are presented using a data science framework that outlines processes to discover, acquire, profile, clean, link, explore the fitness-for-use, and statistically analyze the data. The first case study shows that creating organizational innovation is possible by linking administrative data across business processes in a Fortune 500 company. The motivation for this research is to develop company processes capable of synchronizing their supply chain end to end while capturing dynamics that can alter the inventory, profits, and service balance. The second example shows the feasibility of measurement of innovation related to the characteristics of open source software through data scraped from software repositories that provide this information. The ultimate goal is to develop accurate and repeatable measures to estimate the value of nonbusiness sector open source software to the economy. This early work shows the feasibility of these approaches.

scholarly journals The effects of innovation on firm performance of supporting industries in Hanoi, Vietnam

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nham Tuan ◽  
Nguyen Nhan ◽  
Pham Giang ◽  
Nguyen Ngoc
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Reliability Factor ◽  
Innovative Performance ◽  
Marketing Innovation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: Innovation, including product, process, marketing, and organizational innovation within a firm, is considered as one of essential component for surviving and growing. These innovation activities create value and competitive advantages for successful organizations; therefore, understanding the organization’s overall innovation is the first and foremost to understand the role of innovation on firm performance. The objective of this research is to explore two parts: the impacts of innovation on the different aspect of innovation performance, then their effects to firm performance (production, market, and financial performance).Design/methodology/approach: This study uses primary data from questionnaire survey. The questionnaire involves 4 parts including general information, innovation activities; innovative performance, and firm performance. This research focuses on firms in supporting industries of mechanics, electronics, motorbike and automobile. These firms are in a list of companies (known as The Excellent Vietnamese Companies in Northern and Central Vietnam) established by JETRO and VCCI. There are 150 firms in this list. The questionnaire survey was administered to directors, CEO of those firms during April and May, 2014. Out of the 150 questionnaires sent out, 118 were valid, accounting for 78.7% of the true response rate. Analysis methodologies of reliability, factor analysis and regression are utilized in this paper.Findings: The result demonstrated there are positive effects of process, marketing, and organizational innovations on firm performance in supporting firms. More specifically, the higher the level of innovation activities is, the greater the innovative performance is, which means the larger level of Process, organization and marketing innovation activities are, the higher level of innovative performance are likely to be. Secondly, the higher level of Process, organization and marketing innovative performance, the better level of firm performances is likely to be. To sum up, in order to improve the innovative and firm performance, those firms in supporting industry should highly concentrate on process, marketing, and organizational innovation activities, rather than product innovation activities.Originality/value: Initially, this study applies successfully the model which supposing innovation is a process, then clarifying innovation definition through the impact of innovation activities on innovative performances. Secondly, this research confirmed the positive impact of innovative performances on firm performances. It provided one more empirical evidence of the relationship between innovation and firm performance. For practitioners, organizational innovation and process innovation are more important factors affecting innovative performance and firm performance than product and marketing innovation. Therefore, enterprises should focus and mobilize resources to create improvement in organizational structure and manufacturing processes.

Innovation activities and the creation of new employment: An empirical assessment of South Korea’s manufacturing industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Jib Kwon ◽  
Eunil Park ◽  
Jay Y. Ohm ◽  
Kyeongsik Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Product Innovation ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Process Innovation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Innovation Strategies ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Academic Implications ◽  
Innovation Processes

The study proposes an integrated model to explore the effects of different innovation strategies on the creation of new employment. To verify the model, 532 manufacturing firms in South Korea were investigated. The results indicated that firms’ product innovation strategies had notable positive effects on firms’ creation of new employment, whereas firms’ process innovation strategies were negatively associated with the creation of new employment. Compared with the significant effects of the process innovation and product innovation processes, the activities of both user-centred innovation and organizational innovation were not significantly related to the creation of new employment. On the basis of the statistical results, both practical and academic implications are presented.

scholarly journals Innovation in an authoritarian society: China during the pandemic crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Xiong ◽  
Jie Yan ◽  
Kun Fu ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Yuanqiong He
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Social Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Innovation Activities

Purpose This paper aims to understand the role of government played in the innovation process during the social crisis, and to investigate the innovation activities of the authoritarian state when dealing with social crisis. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data pertaining to eight impactful technological innovations in China during the COVID-19 crisis reveal how interactions and joint efforts by commercial firms and government organizations emerged as spontaneous responses. Findings The analysis of eight innovations – health code adoption, health omnichannel construction, noncontact service provision, distance education provision, public emotion consolation service, cross-boundary project promotion, cloud office adoption and medical material production – reveals a matrix of best practices that details the roles of government (controller or endorser) and the value creation orientation (pro-social or pro-economic value). Originality/value This study enriches innovation literature by providing a new perspective on the relationship between governmental force and technological innovation during social crises. As these new insights reveal, technological innovation can contribute to social crisis management. China’s example provides helpful implications for other countries suffering from the COVID-19 crisis.

scholarly journals Digital Transformation of Forest Services in Finland—A Case Study for Improving Business Processes

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 781
Author(s):  
Ville Kankaanhuhta ◽  
Tuula Packalen ◽  
Kari Väätäinen
Keyword(s):  
Business Processes ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Single Type ◽  
Stand Management ◽  
Young Stand ◽  
Commercial Viability ◽  
Soil Preparation ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Agile Software

This case study introduces an innovation and development concept for agile software tools for the improvement of the productivity and customer experience of forest services. This need was recognized in the context of the opening of forest data and the development of service platforms for a forest-based bioeconomy in Finland. The forest services that were studied covered a continuum from a single type of work, e.g., soil preparation and young stand management through timber procurement, to comprehensive forest property management services. The study concentrated on the needs of micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which provide either retail- or business to business (B2B) services as sub-contractors. In addition, the challenges and bottlenecks in service processes detected by other stakeholders were considered. The prevailing service processes were conceptually modelled in order to search for opportunities for improvements in business and ecosystem services, i.e., agile software concepts. For example, we examined whether it would be possible to create opportunities for flexible operational models for precision, resilience, and protection of valuable microsites in forests. These software concepts were developed and evaluated in co-operation with the stakeholders in a co-creative workshop. The technological feasibility and commercial viability of the concepts, as well as the desirability for the customer were considered. The results of this business development process—i.e., agile software concepts and their anticipated benefits—were provided for further evaluation. In addition to the practical implications of this kind of innovation process tested, the potential of these kinds of agile tools for the further development of knowledge-intensive service processes was further discussed.

Non-R&D Innovation Patterns in Chinese SMEs: An Empirical Study from Zhejiang Province

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (06) ◽  
pp. 1640014
Author(s):  
Gang Zheng ◽  
Yanting Guo ◽  
Yajuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Zhejiang Province ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Marketing Innovation ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Innovation Patterns ◽  
Policy Incentives

During the last few decades, research and development (R&D) have always been regarded as the most important or even the only factor in the attempt to explain the innovation capability and performance of enterprises, industries and economies, while to a large extent, those heterogeneous innovation activities beyond formal R&D are ignored or underestimated. Some research has shown that non-R&D innovation activities contribute to make full use of resources beyond R&D to promote performance, especially to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with weak R&D capability. However, non-R&D innovators’ behavior is still a black box by far, and especially few empirical research have been conducted in China context. This paper first explores the heterogeneous innovation patterns of non-R&D innovation by survey among Chinese SMEs in Zhejiang Province. It shows that, product and service customization, imitation and design, technology adoption and incremental modification, organizational innovation and marketing innovation are the main patterns of non-R&D innovation in China. Then, a case study is followed to cross-validate the patterns and relationships between non-R&D innovation and growth of SMEs in China. Generally, this study has implications for both academia and policy-makers. As it demonstrates, non-R&D innovation is an effective way for SMEs to quickly grow and sustain competitiveness in competition. On the other hand, this study helps to optimize some of current innovation policies for SMEs in China, where policy incentives are mainly R&D-focused. It also likely sheds light on the SMEs in other emerging economies.

Knowledge Sharing, Organizational Climate, and Innovative Behavior: A Cross-Level Analysis of Effects

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien Yu ◽  
Tsai-Fang Yu ◽  
Chin-Cheh Yu
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Climate ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Innovative Behavior ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Innovation Climate ◽  
The Impact

We investigated individual-level knowledge sharing and innovative behavior of employees, organizational innovation climate, and interactions between the individual level of knowledge sharing and the climate of innovation within the organization as a whole. Employees of public corporations in the Taiwanese finance and insurance industries participated in this study. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) indicated a positive association between knowledge sharing and innovative behavior and a positive association between organizational innovation climate and innovative behavior. According to the results of HLM organizational innovation climate did not act as a moderator on the impact of knowledge sharing on innovative behavior.

scholarly journals Bridging the gap: integrating external knowledge from open innovation platforms

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion A. Weissenberger-Eibl ◽  
Tim Hampel
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Organizational Resistance ◽  
External Knowledge ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Project Level

AbstractWhile external knowledge has the potential to benefit a firm’s innovation activities, research shows that the positive effects of a more open model of innovation do not come naturally. This paper draws on the project level to explore the organizational factors that hamper or impede the integration of external knowledge sourced from an open innovation platform and to suggest interventions to overcome these barriers. While open innovation is mainly discussed as a concept that resides at the level of the organization, this paper draws on the project level to contribute to a multi-level understanding of open innovation and to offer a deeper understanding of the challenges project teams face, when integrating external knowledge. To investigate occurring barriers, four cases of external knowledge integration within a multinational corporation are analyzed. The results show that due to the external nature of the knowledge, an additional effort of project teams is required such as forming alliances with key individuals and changing negative attitudes towards external sources to overcome organizational resistance. Theoretical as well as practical implications are discussed.

Knowledge-oriented leadership and technology standard innovation: a temporary-team perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Jiang ◽  
Kazuyuki Motohashi ◽  
Wentao Liu ◽  
Xu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Technology Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Technology Standard ◽  
Member Exchange ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relevance of knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL) to technology standard innovation (TSI) from a temporary-team perspective. The mediating and moderating effect on knowledge integration (KI) and leader–member exchange (LMX) is emphasized. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model is built based on an exhaustive literature review and is empirically tested in terms of a sample of 341 Chinese individuals with TSI experience. Quantitative analysis was performed using a questionnaire with the bootstrapping method used to demonstrate the mediating effect of KI. Findings The empirical results of this study prove that KI mediates the relationship between KOL and TSI. The authors deduce that LMX moderates the positive relation between KOL and KI. Originality/value Few studies have investigated the innovation activities of technology standards from a temporary-team perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to look into the underlying mechanism of KOL in TSI. This research deepens the analysis by introducing LMX’s moderating role in the innovation process of technology standards, thereby providing valuable insights for leaders of innovation activities of technology standards and illuminating new aspects of knowledge-intensive temporary-team management.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document