Adoption Of Management Innovations Research Articles

Thriving in management innovation: an institutional perspective

PurposeManagement innovation is one of the most vital practices underpinning economic growth and is considered to be one of the fundamental components of gaining a superior business position in market conditions that are continually fluctuating. Drawing upon neo-institutional theory as well as absorptive capacity, the current empirical study unpacks the relationships between external institutional forces (i.e. regulative, mimetic and normative pressures) and management innovation through investigating the role of absorptive capacity as a mediator.Design/methodology/approachThe research model is tested using survey data from Australian organisations. The study used Partial Least Squares (PLS), a component-based structural equation modelling (SEM) method, in order to perform the data analysis.FindingsThe results confirm that the various dimensions of institutional forces have diverse influences on management innovation. The authors found mimetic and normative pressures have positive influences on realised and potential absorptive capacity of an organisation. In addition, realised absorptive capacity mediates the relations between institutional forces and management innovation.Originality/valueDissimilar to preceding studies, this research shows that organisations not only innovate to pursue higher performance but sometimes strive for legitimacy. In addition, the significant associations between absorptive capacity and management innovation and the mediation role clearly signify that institutional forces and absorptive capacity play significant roles in the adoption of management innovation.

Eco-friendly indicators and management innovation adoption

The main aim of this study was to identify the eco-friendly factors responsible for property buyers’ choice of residential location, including single-family houses and apartments. The following objectives were formulated: analysis of consumers' residential preferences based on their personal experience supports a more reliable evaluation of individual attributes of a residential location. This paper overviews the existing literature on the subject and analyzes primary data collected by the computer-assisted web-interviewing (CAWI) method. The questionnaire developed by the authors was completed by 269 public servants. The respondents evaluated the quality of their residential environment and identified environmental factors that could influence their health. The data were processed statistically to reveal that price is the most important factor behind the residential location choice. Other factors identified by the respondents included a sense of security and a quiet neighbourhood. High scenic value was regarded as a moderately important factor, although its significance was recognized by the majority of the respondents.

TMT's decision-making on adoption of management innovation

PurposeExternal environment drives established enterprises to employ management innovation. Drawing on dual-process theories, this paper purports to investigate TMT's intuitive and rational decision-making styles as mediating roles between perceived environmental turbulences and management innovation, and explain how organizational slack play an critical moderating role.Design/methodology/approachSPSS 25 is used to test 120 established enterprises' top management team (TMT) samples in China, and the moderated mediation model is empirically tested by using hierarchical regression analysis and conditional process analysis.FindingsPerceived environmental turbulences promotes management innovation. Organizational slack as contextual variable influences the relationship between technology turbulence and TMT's decision-making styles. Interestingly, only perceived technology turbulence indirectly affects management innovation through TMT's intuitive decision-making when moderated by organizational slack. However, the indirect effect from perceived market turbulence to management innovation through TMT's rational decision-making is not significant when moderated by organizational slack.Originality/valueBased on management innovation's human agency perspective, TMT's decision-making styles have not been discussed in research on management innovation. This paper sheds light on TMT's decision-making styles as mediating role.

Do top management teams’ expectations and support drive management innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises?

This paper examines the influences of top management teams (TMTs) on the adoption of management innovation (MI) at the employee level in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By conceptualising TMT influences as composed of the two dimensions of perceived TMT expectations and TMT support, we examine how they may influence MI in SMEs, both directly and indirectly, through the mediation of employee knowledge sharing (EKS). We argue that TMT expectations generate intangible cultural resources that provide the foundation for employees to internalise MI values and norms and that TMT support offers tangible resources to help employees implement MI. We further argue that perceived TMT expectations and support influence SME MI indirectly by encouraging and enabling EKS. Empirical data from China support our conceptual model. The paper advances our knowledge of the roles of TMT and employees as two key internal change agents in driving the adoption of MI in SMEs.

Management innovation: the influence of institutional pressures and the impact on competitive advantage

PurposeDrawing on DiMaggio and Powell's (1983) perspective of institutional theory, this study examines the influence of institutional pressures on the adoption of management innovation and the subsequent impact of management innovation on competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachData were obtained from 156 middle-level managers in Australia using a survey questionnaire, with data analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results show that internal coercive pressures and normative pressures are positively associated with both dimensions of management innovation (i.e. practices and techniques). However, external coercive pressures were found to negatively influence management innovation techniques, and no association was found between mimetic pressures with either dimension of management innovation. Finally, both dimensions of management innovation were found to exhibit a positive influence on competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe findings provide organisations with an insight into the institutional factors that affect their ability to introduce new management practices and techniques (i.e. management innovation) and the role of management innovation in enhancing competitive advantage.

The Motivations for the Adoption of Management Innovation by Local Governments and its Performance Effects

AbstractThis article analyses the economic, political, and institutional antecedents and performance effects of the adoption of shared Senior Management Teams (SMTs)—a management innovation (MI) that occurs when a team of senior managers oversees two or more public organizations. Findings from statistical analysis of 201 English local governments and interviews with organizational leaders reveal that shared SMTs are adopted to develop organizational capacity in resource‐challenged, politically risk‐averse governments, and in response to coercive and mimetic institutional pressures. Importantly, sharing SMTs may reduce rather than enhance efficiency and effectiveness due to redundancy costs and the political transaction costs associated with diverting resources away from a high‐performing partner to support their lower‐performing counterpart.

Creating and Implementing Standardized Management Innovation in a Large Organization

Management innovation represents one of the most important and sustainable sources of competitive advantage due to its context-specific nature. Still, current academic literature on management innovation and standardization is slightly limited. This intensive case study explores management innovation in a large European telecommunications company with the focus on standardization in managerial practices. The research data were gathered through interviews with managers from different levels of the case company. The results show that highly standardized management innovation is effective for reaching a standard level of management in a large company; it is also a prerequisite for further systematic development. Research questions: The purpose of this study is to gain insight into how standardization emerges in management innovation in a large organization by studying the construction and conduction of a managerial toolkit in a European telecommunications company. Links to theory: The theoretical framework is based on a study of management innovations and related processes by Birkinshaw et al. (2008) and a standardization study by Wright, Wylie & Sturdy (2012) in which the tasks of an internal change agent were divided into “ standardizing agendas” and “ standardizing methods”. Phenomenon studied: Adoption process of a standardized management innovation in a large company. Case context: The case company is a large European telecommunications company which operates in a highly competitive market where organizational excellence is extremely beneficial. The case study focuses on the case company management innovation process for creating a “toolkit” for day-to-day management in the retail sales channel. Research findings: The research findings gathered through systematic combining approach show that standardized management innovation is an effective tool for implementing managerial best practices from management fashions into organizational standards. Through adapting these learnings systematically to managers’ individual work, the good “standard” level of managing can be achieved in a large-size company. Reaching these standards also appears as a prerequisite for a further systematic managerial development in the organization. Discussion: This study contributes to management innovation research by highlighting planning and coordination in introduction and successful adoption of standardized management innovation. Planning communications, setting achievable timeframes and choosing the right implementers are important aspects of implementation. Clear guidelines help employees understand the ideological background of management innovation, and close interaction between change agents and store managers promotes the adoption of management innovation. A standardized management toolkit is an effective tool for putting external leadership ideologies, known as management fashions, into practice in a large organization. However, practical implementation requires comprehensive communication and preferably internal recruitment of change agents.

Management innovation in leveraged buyout companies

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge on innovation in Leveraged Buyout (LBO) companies with a particular analysis of management innovation (i.e., innovation in strategy, practices, organization and marketing). This area in innovation research is underexplored, with very few studies in the LBO context. Based on a multi-stage model of innovation, we contend that private equity firms are change agents and external knowledge sources which influence the emergence and adoption of management innovation. We thus hypothesize that, after a leveraged buyout, LBO companies should be more likely than non-LBO companies to introduce management innovations. In addition, we argue that, in order to ensure that targets can implement innovations brought by PE firms, target companies should exhibit higher-than-average absorptive capacity before the LBO. We use firm-level evidence from three rounds of the UK part of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) to validate our hypotheses empirically. The results of the analysis support these arguments.

Rationales for integrated reporting adoption and factors impacting on the extent of adoption

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate rationales for integrated reporting (<IR>) adoption and factors that impact on the extent of adoption in the UK early adopter organisations. Diffusion of innovation theory was used as a guiding theoretical lensDesign/methodology/approachThe study was based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 36 senior executives actively involved in IR in finance, sustainability, communications and legal functions within seventeen organisations. A content analysis of the interviews was undertaken using qualitative coding techniques within Nvivo 11 software.FindingsOrganisations drew on a wide range of rationales for adoption, with a predominance of sociological over economic rationales, both of which offered organisations a relative advantage over existing practices. Economically, <IR> emerged as an incremental process, which filled a performance gap is predominantly manufacturing and utility industries with significant impacts on the environment/society. Predominant sociological rationales were: external pressures, primarily due to perceptions of shifts in societal expectations; and internal aspirations relating to enhancing reputation. Findings also revealed that the <IR> framework was not fully adopted by the majority of organisations, primarily due to incompatibility with organisational requirements and/or perceived complexity of the framework.Research limitations/implicationsThis research study was limited by the small sample of organisations that participated, although significant efforts were made to ensure that the sample incorporated the majority of early adopter UK organisations who demonstrated best practice in <IR>.Practical implicationsRecommendations on how the adoption of <IR> may be further enhanced in the future are outlined.Social implicationsResearch that provides recommendations to inform policy and practice regarding how <IR> could be more widely adopted, and its practices further diffused, within organisations is important given <IR> has the potential to contribute to societal and environmental well-being.Originality/valueThis study is significant as research into <IR> adoption decision motivations and subsequent extent of adoption is scant, particularly in the UK. It responds to the call by Dumay et al. (2016) for <IR> researchers to engage more with practice. It further enriches prior research on the adoption of management innovations where an extensive body of innovation literature has focussed on the rationale for organisational adoption of management innovations but has neglected the subsequent extent of adoption.

The Organizational Impacts of Design Thinking used as a Toolbox for Managers or as a Theory of Design

The adoption of Management Innovation in organizations is difficult to investigate. Controversies exist on the nature of Design thinking (DT), which can be used as a toolbox for managers, or as a theory of design practice. Based on a multi-case study, this article investigates the impacts brought by DT in organizations, in terms of new practices and roles played by designers. Referring to various definitions of DT and its relation to Design, this article proposes a framework articulating the objectives of DT as Management Innovation and its adoption. The results show two intertwined factors: the fit between the cultural, technical and political dimensions of the organization, and the profile of the change agent, designer or not.

Reinvention of management innovation for successful implementation

This paper's primary aim is to show how a management innovation is implemented due to the creation of another new management innovation through an endogenous process. We call this process the 'reinvention' of a management innovation. Building on management innovation implementation literature, we elaborate a theoretical framework that details the endogenous mechanisms through which the implementation phase of a management innovation can be the foundation of another management innovation. A management innovation's adoption does not necessarily require its adaptation. Adopting a management innovation may lead to the generation of another management innovation in order to successfully implement the first management innovation. We use the term 'reinvention' when a management innovation is generated through an endogenous process. We used an exploratory method based on a qualitative and longitudinal case research study. The present paper contributes to the understanding of emergence and implementation process of management innovations.

The effect of organizational learning and knowledge management innovation on SMEs’ technological capability

Organizational learning and knowledge management innovation are context- specific and they can influence SME’s technological capability effectively. We defined knowledge management innovation as a two-stage process: adoption and implementation of a managerial practice, process, or tool that is new to the firms and is intended to enhance the firms’ knowledge management efficiency. Then we constructed a conceptual model to discuss the relationship among organizational learning, knowledge management innovation and technological capability. We proposed that the effects of organizational learning were not only curvilinear but also differential across knowledge management innovation adoption and implementation process. The findings supported the hypotheses that (1) exploitative learning and exploratory learning had increasingly positive effects on knowledge management innovation; (2) knowledge management innovation had an inverted U relationship with technological capability; and (3) when exploitative learning was high, more knowledge management innovations were associated with better technological capability, but explorative innovation had insignificant moderating effects in knowledge management innovation implementation process.

The Impact of Preliminary Elements for Management Innovation Adoption on the Firm's Profitability

Many CEOs have often introduced various types of management innovation for the firm’s profitability improvement. If the firm is, however, in a situation in which the firm is not ready to adopt those management innovations, it is not possible to achieve the goal of profit enhancement. In this study, we analyze the relationship between the preliminary elements of management innovation and profitability, and want to introduce the key success factors of management innovation. After investigating preliminary elements of the management innovation adoption through existing literature review, we conducted a questionnaire survey to Korean K-company. Then, by utilizing the structural equation modeling with AMOS, we analyzed the impact of preliminary elements of the management innovation adoption on the profitability. We found out that there are main preliminary elements of the management innovation adoption directed to profitability enhancement. From this finding, it would be possible to assist promoting successful management innovation of the company. By searching and enhancing the preliminary elements of management innovation affecting the profitability, it would be possible to reduce the innovation failure in the future business.

The adoption process in management innovation: A Knowledge Management case study

This paper draws on findings from a longitudinal study of the adoption of a management innovation within an organisational setting. It is based on the findings of a case study that explores and discusses in depth a Knowledge Management programme that was introduced within a large distributed public sector agency in Europe. The aim of this research was to provide insight into the adoption process associated with management innovation. A qualitative case study strategy generates an account of the process of adoption through three phases (initiation; implementation; and outcomes), the episodes within each phase, and decision-making across the entire process. The findings contribute to the development of an extended and refined model of the process of adoption of management innovation through the consideration of the labelling, sequence and transition of phases and episodes, and decision-making. In this extended and refined model there are three phases with nine episodes, two of which are recursive; the phases occur in a linear sequence but may overlap, while the episodes occur in a non-linear sequence; and decision-making occurs within episodes, between phases and between episodes. The study makes three primary contributions to knowledge. First, it considers the process of adoption (as opposed to the more commonly examined process of generation) of management innovation. Second, it identifies decision-making related to the changes required for adoption of a management innovation. Finally, it develops a model of the process of adoption of management innovation that includes decision-making. In addition, the output of the study can be used as a tool for project management by identifying the questions to be addressed, and the decisions to be made, at particular points of the management innovation process, taking into account local contexts.

Barriers constraining management innovation (MI) adoption in the Ghanaian construction consulting sector

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to critically examine and report upon the barriers that constrain MI within the Ghanaian construction consulting sector. Globalization and the shift towards knowledge-based economies have encouraged organizations to adopt management innovation (MI) as a means of increasing market share and creating competitive leverage. Organizations within developing countries, such as Ghana, have followed this global trend, but barriers continue to affect MI adoption.Design/methodology/approach– The research is positioned within a mixed methods “deductive” methodological tradition and is undertaken via a three-stage iterative approach. First, the research synthesizes relevant literature to identify 14 potential barriers to MI adoption. Second, using convenient and snowball sampling techniques, structured survey questionnaires were distributed to 70 consulting firms within the Kumasi metropolis; a high 78.5 per cent response rate was returned. Third, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component (factor) analysis to determine underlying barriers that restrict MI adoption.Findings– The barriers to MI adoption are contained within four inextricably linked factor groups: organizational structural influences, flow of information, institutional constraints and costs of innovations. The findings demonstrate that innovation thrives in an organizational environment that nurtures creativity, staff development, moderate risk taking and idea generation and management – albeit, the external economic environment must also be conducive to facilitating innovation within companies and organizations.Practical implications– Innovation within construction companies is a prerequisite requirement for a dynamic and competitive economy because it nurtures self-regulating “free market” behavior, which creates considerable benefit to an economy. Such an attribute is particularly attractive for the developing country of Ghana, which has historically suffered from recurrent social, political and economic pressures. Hence, the research findings will be of practical interest to policymakers, academics and industrialists who have a vested interest in improving the performance of the Ghanaian economy. It will also be of interest to others within developing countries who are experiencing similar issues.Originality/value– This research work builds upon the work of previous scholars in this field and investigates the barriers to implementing MI in Ghana. The paper’s findings will be useful to organizations and government policymakers who seek to increase business performance within a free market and profitability in an ever increasingly competitive world.

How dynamic capabilities affect adoption of management innovations

Management innovation facilitates changes including technical innovation thus improving organizational performance; Chinese firms typically adopt these management innovations. Building on previous research of how and why management innovation occurs, this study measures the influence of four dynamic capabilities on four stages of the innovation process. The study surveys 264 Chinese firms and analyzes results through PLS-SEM. The findings indicate that relational capability facilitates sensing capability, absorptive capacity, and integrative capability. Further, all of these dynamic capabilities affect stages of the adoptive management innovation process; from initiation through to implementation. As innovation results can be intangible and lagging, and consequently difficult to measure, the method offers managers an alternative by monitoring the effects of different capabilities at each stage of the adoptive management innovation process.

Late Getting on the Bandwagon: Management Innovation Adoption in the Federal Government

Recent organizational performance studies identified an increase in the adoption of management innovations as more organizations seek to use innovation for competitive advantage. Despite an abundance of literature on management innovations in the private sector, there has been little empirical research done to explain the adoption decisions of management innovations in the public sector, especially in the federal government. To better understand innovation adoption in the federal government, this study investigated the adoption of 17 management innovations.This empirical study gathered data from 252 senior federal managers from 44 different executive departments and federal agencies. Statistical analysis confirmed that external pressure, organizational slack, organizational risk-taking, and managerial socialization had positive and statistically significant (p

Entrepreneur role analysis on adoptive management innovation: an exploratory case in China

PurposeIn China the maturity of the industrial development has the demonstration and reference implications for how to achieve enterprises competitiveness among the developing industries in a country. With the development of globalization, how to improve the enterprises competitiveness has became a serious problem to be solved for Chinese enterprises. The management innovation is reasonable and appropriate to solve this problem. Compared with the independent innovation, adoptive management innovation has become the main way for enterprises to fulfill the management innovation and change the management styles under the open economy condition. The research strives to reveal the “black box” in the management innovation adoptive process and give an answer to a series of questions, such as “what is the role of entrepreneurs in management innovation adoptive process?”Design/methodology/approachExploratory case study approach is taken to find the entrepreneurs' role in management innovation adoptive process of Chinese traditional industry.FindingsThis paper constructs the adoptive management innovation model from three dimensions, using exploratory case technique, which explores the key factors and mechanism of realizing management innovation adoption. Through the exploratory case analysis to verify the viewpoint which is proposed by the model: entrepreneurs played a leading role in the adoptive management innovation of non‐procedural process, and the role is the result of the mixed function of the external and internal environment. Entrepreneurs analyze and explore the new problems and opportunities, and their own experience and ability determine the cognition and explore degree towards these problems directly; entrepreneurs' integration ability of resources can be approved and accepted after the new practice has been proposed and become mature. Entrepreneur long‐term shaping on organizational resources determines whether the management innovations introduction would be really integrated into enterprise management system. The entrepreneur's typical behavior on “integration, learning and shaping” is the foundation and guarantee of adoptive management innovation, which have connective effect on adjacent stages.Originality/valueThe article describes Haier BPR process of adoptive management innovation and the adoptive management innovation mode, and analyzes the effect of entrepreneurs' role on adoptive management innovation of China's color TV industry. The Chinese color TV industry as the maturity industry has the demonstration and reference implications for how to achieve enterprises competitiveness in Chinese developing industries.

Controlling the control system: performance information in the German childcare administration

Purpose– The purpose of this article is to improve understanding of the use of performance information in the public sector.Design/methodology/approach– The article is based on a comparative case study in the field of German childcare administration. Two cities have been selected based on the variation of their performance measurement systems.Findings– It is found that a higher complexity and sophistication of the measurement system fosters the use of performance data by civil servants. At the same time, such a comprehensive control system seems to undermine the steering ability of local politicians. Referring to agency theory, it is argued that complex data systems can increase information asymmetries in favour of bureaucrats.Research limitations/implications– Since the findings are based on two cases, the paper does not make any claims about their generalisability for a particular population. Instead, the paper uses in-depth observations to better inform and enhance an existing hypothesis.Practical implications– The results emphasise the importance of user-specific performance reporting. The paper suggests thinking of the adoption of management innovation as a temporal process where measurement complexity can be balanced over time by customised reporting.Originality/value– This article is innovative as it focuses on two user groups of performance data simultaneously. The results show that this approach adds value because observations vary based on the perspective of the different users.

Industry Relative Advantage Across the Value Chain and the Diffusion of Quality Certificates

The study explores whether and how cross-country and cross-industry differences in the diffusion of innovations are affected by the relative advantage of national industries across the value chain. We use diffusion literature to develop an analytical framework of how industries with diverse comparative advantage across the value chain may observe different rates of management innovation adoption. Empirically, it focuses on the diffusion of ISO9000 certificates, between 2001 and 2004, across manufacturing industries, in seven OECD countries. Taking into consideration the international trade relationships as well as industry, country, and time fixed effects, regression results suggest that the differences in industry comparative advantage in the knowledge, conversion and product markets, generates differences in the levels of innovation adoption. These effects are not homogeneous across low-tech and high-tech industries or across countries occupying diverse positions on the global trade networks.