Promoters as social controls to facilitate knowledge sharing, conflict management and innovation project portfolio performance

Abstract

Organizational control theory emphasizes aligning members' actions with organizational goals through formal and social controls. In innovation management, formal controls like project management or stage‐gate processes are limited to measurable and standardized areas. For situations that are complex, unpredictable and highly idiosyncratic, social controls need to be applied for alignment. Knowledge sharing and competitive conflicts are two such innovation‐related phenomena that elude formal control and instead need social controls for alignment. In this research, we propose that promoters—individuals who actively support innovation—serve as social control agents. While previous research has shown the positive effect of single promoters on individual innovation project success, we propose a comprehensive implementation of all four promoter roles, and we test their joint effect on the intermediate outcomes of knowledge sharing and competitive conflict management facilitating innovation project portfolio performance. Drawing on cross‐industry data of 125 firms collected from 986 employees, this article provides empirical evidence that comprehensive implementation of all four promoter roles enhances knowledge sharing and reduces competitive conflicts, thereby improving innovation project portfolio performance. The research reframes promoters as social control agents, emphasizing their collective necessity for managing complex organizational issues and contributing to overall project success.