Innovation practices: dissolving knowledge boundaries in innovation projects
Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: With the increasing importance of cooperative and open innovation, new organizational interfaces emerge. More precisely, actors who previously have not had any interfaces in their daily business are now expected to share their knowledge. This diversity gives rise to knowledge boundaries which endanger innovation projects’ success. Anecdotal evidence exists, which suggests that tools and methods – referred to as innovation practices – have the ability to dissolve these boundaries. What is required for the future success of knowledge sharing is a much deeper and more sophisticated understanding of the interplay of knowledge boundaries and innovation practices at newly emerging interfaces. Therefore, the overall research question of this doctoral dissertation is: How can knowledge boundaries at newly emerging interfaces in innovation projects be dissolved with innovation practices? To be able to address this overall research question, two sub-questions have to be answered. First, a better understanding of knowledge boundaries at newly emerging interfaces is needed. This leads to the first research question, i.e. what types of knowledge boundaries exist at newly emerging interfaces in innovation projects? To identify these boundaries, European innovation managers from different sectors and industries are interviewed. This leads to the insight that six distinct types of knowledge boundaries with specific characteristics exist. Second, it is important to understand the ability of innovation practices to dissolve knowledge boundaries. Hence, the second research question aims to analyze what innovation practices offer to dissolve knowledge boundaries. To answer the second research question, a cross-disciplinary literature review has been conducted. It is found that a variety of innovation practices are used to dissolve knowledge boundaries. Comparing the processes of knowledge sharing, it is identified that innovation practices do so with a set of distinct mechanisms (later on referred to as boundary-dissolving mechanisms). Innovation practices applied to dissolve knowledge boundaries can be clustered according to these boundary-dissolving mechanisms. Being clear about how innovation practices dissolve knowledge boundaries, in general, builds the foundation to determine whether they can also be applied successfully in the context of newly emerging interfaces. Having learned that 1) specific boundary types exist at newly emerging interfaces and that 2) innovation practices offer particular mechanisms to dissolve knowledge boundaries in general, we have the foundation on which to address the overall research question. To do so, the interplay between previously identified boundary types and boundary-dissolving mechanisms is studied. This is done by drawing on a case study at adidas. The case was observed and analyzed over a three year period of time. During this time, three projects were studied. Thereby, propositions of the interplay of boundary types and boundary-dissolving mechanisms were developed. Based on the case study, particular mechanisms can be recommended to dissolve distinct boundary types. In sum, this thesis helps practitioners to come to grips with understanding and dissolving these boundaries, irrespective of the industry they are in. Thereby, the findings support organizational endeavors to integrate diverse actors’ knowledge in innovation projects. At the same time directions for future research are identified and provided.
Author: Christiane Rau
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3169781731