Abstract
PurposeThe study queries the drivers of innovation management in contemporary data-driven organizations/companies. It is argued that data-driven organizations that integrate a strategic orientation grounded in data, human abilities and proactive management are more effective in triggering innovation.Design/methodology/approachResearch reported in this paper employs constructivist grounded theory, Gioia methodology, and the abductive approach. The data collected through semi-structured interviews administered to 20 Italian start-up founders are then examined.FindingsThe paper identifies the key enablers of innovation development in data-driven companies and reveals that data-driven companies may generate different innovation patterns depending on the kind of capabilities activated.Originality/valueThe study provides evidence of how the combination of data-driven culture, skills' enhancement and the promotion of human resources may boost the emergence of innovation.
Highlights
Smart technologies and the digitalization of business processes may foster the development of innovation (Lee et al, 2014)
Even if it is expected that data overturns human decisions, the start-up founder F1 affirms that “normally data can be full of bias and can foster preconceptions, sometimes can help the creation of conversation, but people cannot ‘unmask’ data! Data ‘’ starts the dialogue”
The results obtained confirm that the complementarity and synthesis between data analysis/management and the promotion of human resources/skills can boost the emergence of innovation
Summary
Smart technologies and the digitalization of business processes may foster the development of innovation (Lee et al, 2014). The redesign of organizational models through new technologies requires that strategic data management be applied to improve decision making processes and to prompt innovative insights. In this regard, data-driven decision making (DDDM) suggests thee need to reframe and rethink business practices (LaValle et al, 2011; Brynjolfsson et al, 2011). Research on DDDM suggests that uncritical and devoid of strategy use of technological tools does not foster innovation (Manyika et al, 2011; Wamba et al, 2015) Rather, it is the way people actively use these tools, e.g. through the exchange of knowledge and other practices, that individually or in conjunction may trigger innovative processes and, innovation
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