Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Constructing Corporate Capability In Changing Contexts: The Innovation Journey Of Strategic Management Development At Bankwest, Moira Watson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is about an unfolding management development process over time. Interconnections influencing corporate capability are explained and insight provided into the social construction of strategic organisational change. Studies of strategically-focused change don’t generally address the part management development plays in innovation and corporate capability construction. This research thus fills a persistent knowledge gap in the understanding of the way management development is provided within organisations and the value of the process.

This empirical study is in the process research tradition. A longitudinal, in-depth case study of BankWest, an Australian financial services company undergoing significant change between 1997 and 2009, …

Innovation: Defining, Identifying, And Leveraging Sources Of Advantageous Innovation, Nathan Lord, Dr. Jeff Dyer

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Innovation is a topic that keeps business leaders up at night. The current competitive landscape of corporate America has become a place in which companies must constantly renew their products, services, and identities. According to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group, an overwhelming majority of business leaders set innovation as a top priority. This same majority also admits its dissatisfaction with its innovation efforts thus far. Clearly these leaders are in need of better tools to identify and leverage sources of innovation both within and without their firms.

Decision Styles Of Corporate Leaders: Do Differences Make A Difference, Sherry Sanger

Student Scholarship

Ineffective decision making at the top rungs of organizations is a perennial concern, yet empirical research into the decision styles of corporate leaders is scant. Conceptually sound and psychometrically validated constructs for alternative decision styles of corporate leaders are rare. This study develops and validates a multi-dimensional measure of different decision styles used by corporate leaders. Structural equation modeling is used to examine if different decision styles are associated with different performance outcomes for strategic decisions related to new opportunities. The three dimensions of decision styles evidence convergent and discriminant validity in a sample of 100 Corporate Leaders. In addition, …

Cracking The Case, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Can you build a convincing business case within 24 hours? A bunch of undergraduates did. Twenty-four teams took part in this year’s APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge, the fifth edition of an annual student-run competition started by undergraduates at Singapore Management University’s School of Information Systems.

Resource-Constrained? Just Wing It., Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Some four years ago, when the economic recession started in the West, Navi Radjou was convinced that the way ahead meant companies had to innovate and become faster, better and cheaper if they were to survive. Enter Jugaad. Jugaad is a Hindi word which means “an innovative fix; an improvised solution born from ingenuity and resourcefulness” and is now the name of a new approach to innovation.

Beating Competitors To International Markets: The Value Of Geographically Balanced Networks For Innovation, Pankaj C. Patel, Stephanie A. Fernhaber, Patricia P. Mcdougall-Covin, Robert P. Van Der Have

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Being able to launch new products internationally is critical for technology-based ventures to recoup the high costs of R&D and to exploit their innovations fully. Despite the widely recognized importance of networks within the innovation development process, there appear to be contrasting viewpoints as to whether local or foreign network partners contribute more in the race to internationalize. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of comparative advantage, we propose and empirically confirm that ventures pursuing a balance of local and foreign network connections for the development of an innovation are able to bring the product more rapidly into the international marketplace. …

Contextual Support For Innovation In An Australian Financial Services Firm, Agung N. Fahrudi, Denise E. Gengatharen, Yuliani Suseno, Craig Standing

Research outputs 2013

Organizational learning can facilitate innovation and it is affected by internal and external contexts. Leaders can provide internal contextual support for learning to occur in the organization in order to respond to changes in external contexts. However, there are limited studies about how leaders affect innovation in financial services firms. This paper applies Crossan et al.’s (1999) 4I framework to examine the impact of internal and external factors on an organization’s learning process and the extent of its innovation. An on-going case study of a large Australian financial services firm is used to gain insights about contextual support for innovation. …

Financial Services Innovation: Opportunities For Transformation Through Facial Recognition And Digital Wallet Patents, Debora S. Bartoo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Bringing innovation to the marketplace for new products and services involves creativity, a culture in which change flourishes, and leadership that thrives on transformation and complexity. This study explored the potential for market disruption or change based on innovations involving patents granted to nonfinancial services organizations that could affect financial services, specifically consumer or retail bank products. It involved analyzing documents related to recently granted patents and completing a mixed methods survey integrating the Delphi research technique. This method required multiple iterations of a survey presented to expert panelists or industry thought leaders to attempt to gain consensus ("Consensus", 2011) …

When On The Mountain Top, Create New Summits, Says Samsung Asia Pacific Ceo, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The past couple of years have been nothing short of phenomenal for Korean electronics giant, Samsung. The company has seen success with a number of their products, particularly in the television business. "For TV, we've been number one in the world since 2005," exclaimed Gregory Lee, President and CEO of Samsung Asia.

Ownership Structure, Absorptive Capacity, And Innovation: Planting Vs Harvesting Innovation, Seung Hoon Jang

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation investigates the main research question: Which classification of innovation explains the heterogeneous timing of revenue realization? Given the significance of financial gain, researchers are recommended to pay attention to whether innovation outcomes result in commercial gains in the short term. Following this notion, a new category of innovation, planting and harvesting, is presented. While harvesting innovation seeks new resources in the expectation of commercial performance in the short term, planting innovation pursues potential resources creating value over a long time period. The interest in the determinants and financial contribution of these types of innovation leads to the second …

Extended Stakeholder Orientation: Influence On Innovation Orientation And Firm Performance, Vijay K. Patel

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

In search of drivers of sustainable competitive advantage, this study integrates aspects of stakeholder theory and market orientation. The work results in the concept of extended stakeholder orientation incorporating proactive elements for the first time. Market orientation focuses on customers and competitors – two key stakeholders. Stakeholder theory seeks to broaden the focus to a wider group of stakeholders including employees and shareholders who together with customers and competitors are seen as ‘essential’ stakeholders. Relationships, interactions and ongoing mutual impact on firm activities involving essential stakeholders are fundamental and frequent. While other views of stakeholder theory place more emphasis on …

500 Year Documentation, Francis T. Marchese, Phd, Maninder Pal Kaur Shergill

Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship

Museum visitors today can regularly view 500 year old art by Renaissance masters. Will visitors to museums 500 years in the future be able to see the work of digital artists from the early 21st century? This paper considers the real problem of conserving interactive digital artwork for museum installation in the far distant future by exploring the requirements for creating documentation that will support an artwork's adaptation to future technology. In effect, this documentation must survive as long as the artwork itself -- effectively, in perpetuity. A proposal is made for the use of software engineering methodologies as solutions …

Open-Source It Support For Effective Social Entrepreneurship, Lixin Tao

Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship

To better support its mission, a non-profit organization needs to effectively reach out to the public, collect information and opinions form the public, support effective brainstorming and discussions, implement effective business processes for non-profit operations, and support effective governance of the organization. The latest information technologies have provided better alternative for non-profits to run smoother and more effectively.

In this paper we conduct a critical study of two popular open-source contents management systems, Drupal and WordPress, introduce Drupal to social entrepreneurs, and explain how it can support most of the tasks outlined above. Specific guidance is provided for setting up …

Patent System Measurements: Review, Critique And Proposal, Deli Yang

School of Business Faculty Research

This paper reviews and critiques existing literature on means of patent system measurement across countries and accordingly proposes an integrated framework to advance this under-studied area by considering the impact of international organizations. The literature review reveals that studies have been conducted to measure patent systems across the world in diversely conceptual, empirical and methodological manners. The paper discusses all these differences and reveals their strengths and weaknesses. The proposed conceptual framework consists of three components: patent mechanism (e.g. patent laws), patent administration (e.g. patent filing and grant) and patent enforcement (e.g. judicial dispute resolution). The initial testing of this …

Learning And Innovation In The Context Of Process-Focused Management Practices: The Case Of An Environmental Management System, Deepa Aravind

Publications and Research

Adoption of process-focused management practices has been associated with inertia and rigidity in adopting firms. By drawing on the literature on routines and using survey data from 192 ISO 14001 certified facilities in the United States, I find that change catalysis or a deep form of learning which presents the opportunity for innovation can happen in this context. I also examine the internal and external determinants of change catalysis. By doing so I contribute to a better understanding of how process-focused management practices can be a source of innovation within firms.

Value Capture In Global Production Networks: Evidence From The Taiwanese Electronics Industry, Namchul Shin, Alan Eisner

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurial Innovation As A Learning System, Robert M. Gemmell

Student Scholarship

We surveyed 172 technology entrepreneurs to explore links between learning style and learning flexibility and decision making behaviors hypothesized to produce entrepreneurial innovation and success. Our findings reveal a system of entrepreneurial learning and innovation with subtle and surprising interactions between learning processes and behavioral mediators.

Book Review: Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure, Aaron W. Hughey

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Under The Shade Of The Plane Tree: Examining Postures And Interdependent Relationships In Highly Regulated Government-Funded Programs, Marilyn A. Hosea

Student Scholarship

As government regulations and penalties for non-compliance increase, highly regulated, government funded programs (HRGFPs) are pressed to meet regulatory compliance demands that are perceived to override agency and consumer needs. This research builds upon classic theoretical studies to reconceptualize how power dependence and resource dependence impact government-agency interactions, relations and program effectiveness. Survey results from a national sample of federally funded Head Start organizations suggest: (1) agency/government co- rather than inter-dependency; (2) compliant rather than innovative agency behavior, and (3) age, auspice and funding levels effects on agency/government relations.

Kabloom!: Revolution In The Flower Industry, Gina Vega, Collette Dumas, Beverly Kahn, Jafar Mana

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

David Hartstein started KaBloom in 1998 with the goal of creating “the Starbucks of Flowers.” He successfully built brand recognition for the gardenlike shops, but problems plagued the young organization. Nearly three years and one recession later, KaBloom failed to live up to Hartstein’s forecast of exponential growth. This case has been designed for a graduate-level course in entrepreneurship/innovation. Students can compare franchising with other business models, examine the impact of organizational structure and leadership styles on business effectiveness, relate issues of supply chain management and logistics to environmental changes, and recognize the impact of innovation on business sustainability.

A Tale Of Two Paradigms: The Impact Of Psychological Capital And Reinforcing Feedback On Problem Solving And Innovation, Fred Luthans, Carolyn M. Youssef, Shannon L. Rawski

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This study drew from two distinct paradigms: the social cognitively based emerging field of positive organizational behavior or POB and the more established behaviorally based area of organizational behavior modification or OB Mod. The intent was to show that both can contribute to complex challenges facing today’s organizations. Using a quasi-experimental research design (N = 1,526 working adults), in general both the recently recognized core construct of psychological capital (representing POB) and reinforcing feedback (representing OB Mod), especially when partially mediated through a mastery-oriented mindset, were positively related to problem solving performance, reported innovation, and subsequent psychological capital. The implications …

Trumbull Library System, Business Program: Patents & Business Intelligence, Amy Jansen, Robert Berry

Librarian Publications

A November 10, 2011 presentation by Amy Jansen, Business Librarian at Sacred Heart University and Robert Berry, Research Librarian and Patent and Trademark Resource Center representative for the Sacred Heart University Library.

Coaching Leaders: Co-Creating Purpose Based Innovation, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

The purpose of the presentation was to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of coaching leaders in today's global economy. Leadership coaching has the potential to co-create innovation in organizations of all sizes. Three case studies were shared. In each example, Dr. Connie presented the effectiveness of her coaching program. Each case study demonstrated the power of leadership and innovation on the economy, society and individual.

Defining The Technology Transition Manager Within The Acquisition Framework Of The Department Of Defense, Ernest Csoma

Theses and Dissertations

One of the main challenges in new product development is maintaining communication and coordination among the various development and product teams supporting the project. This research proposes the establishment of a technology transition manager who acts on the behalf of the program manager as a “deal broker” to facilitate the transition of technology from one organization to another for further development and integration. Specifically, the researcher sought to answer five research questions addressing the required experience, expertise, organizational alignment, job skills, individual characteristics, roles, and responsibilities of technology transition managers. The researcher also examined differing expectations of transition managers among …

Ict Innovation Diffusion In Small Logistics Service Providers: An Empirical Survey, Pietro Evangelista, Edward Sweeney, Claudia-Maria Wagner

Articles

For companies competing in highly dynamic markets, innovation is considered a fundamental component of a successful business as it allows companies to sustain profit margins, sales growth and reduce competitors’ pressures. Information and communication technology (ICT) is essential innovation enablers especially in service companies. The focus of the paper is on the analysis of the role of ICT in innovation processes of small third-party logistics service providers (3PLs). On the basis of quantitative evidence emerging from a recent survey carried out on the Italian 3PL market, the paper analyses how ICT is used to support innovation and the factors the …

Organizational Ambidexterity And Synergistic Effects Of Plural Organizational Forms : A Search For Balance Between Standardization And Innovation, Jaeyoung Kang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation was motivated to answer the following questions: (1) Why are the plural organizational forms (company-owned units and franchised units) used in a chain, what is the effect of the plural organizational form on chain performance, and what factors influence the optimal combination of the plural organizational forms? Drawing on the organizational ambidexterity theory, I argue the plural organizational forms enable chains to maintain standardization across multiple units and facilitate innovation for the adaptation to changing environment simultaneously. Thus, the plural organizational forms can contribute to chain performance by reconciling and harnessing these conflicting demands. I suggest that there …

The 'Where' And 'How' Of Exploration And Exploitation: Balancing Leadership Styles To Drive Innovation And Performance, Ann Kowal Smith

Student Scholarship

Using a global sample of public companies, we explored the relationships among transformational and transactional leadership, exploration and exploitation and performance. First, balanced leadership styles drive more innovative learning outcomes than either single style. Second, elements of an expanded framework of innovative learning, including “where” ideas are sourced and “how” they are shared, fully mediate the relationship between leadership and performance. Specifically, “how” drives earnings growth and “where” drives revenue growth. We propose a nuanced ambidexterity, whereby leaders balance not only exploration and exploitation, but also idea sourcing and idea sharing to unleash their organization’s collective wisdom and drive performance.

Entrepreneurial Leadership And Teamwork: The Key To Innovation In The 21st Century, Connie I. Reimers-Hild, Susan N. Williams

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

Entrepreneurial leadership and continuous innovation are vital components of 21st century communities and organizations. Entrepreneurial leaders must realize the importance of environmental, social and global issues while creating an atmosphere of innovation designed to help followers become more entrepreneurial themselves.

Entrepreneurial individuals and teams have the ability to recognize and capitalize on opportunities, innovate, take risks, adapt to rapid change and marshal resources to achieve their goals. When individuals come together as an effective team, they can produce a synergy to meet the demands of a rapidly changing and competitive work environment. Therefore, entrepreneurial leaders must develop entrepreneurial individuals and …

Strategic Leadership And Innovation In High Technology Firms, Terri A. Scandura Phd

Management Faculty Articles and Papers

Did you ever wonder what the organizations that produce some of the high tech gadgets we marvel at such as the IPhone and the Blu-ray player are like? How do their leaders create and maintain a spirit of innovation that produces these hit products? High technology firms face unique challenges because of the fast paced and ever-changing landscape of their industry. Intellectual capital and innovation have become the key sources of competitive advantage in a wide range of industries and many have argued that the key to the future competitiveness of organizations in the U.S and abroad is the ability …

“Go Live In ’05”—From Hierarchy To Shared Governance In Higher Education, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

Higher education is in the midst of a major transformation evidenced by several factors: greater demands from stakeholders; pressure to increase student enrollment, financial uncertainty, limited resources, and a responsibility to contribute to the community’s civic and economic development. Faculty and staff in higher education are challenged to deliver education in innovative ways. This innovation requires an expedient method of governance and necessitates careful examination of the organization’s structural, cultural, and decision-making processes. To meet these demands, leaders in higher education must examine decision-making processes and design governance models that respond quickly and efficiently to their myriad of constituents.