
The Innovation Journey
Andrew van de Ven(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 16. September 1999
Book
Hardback
436 pages
978-0-19-513307-3 (ISBN)
Description
The Innovation Journey presents the results of a major longitudinal study that examined the process of innovation from concept to implementation of new technologies, products, processes, and administrative arrangements. Its findings call into question most of the explanations of the innovation process that have been proposed in the past. The Minnesota Innovation Research Program, on which this book is based, involved over 30 researchers who undertook longitudinal studies that tracked the development of 14 diverse innovations in real time and in their natural field settings. Studying its results, the authors find that the innovation journey is neither sequential and orderly, nor is it a matter of random trial and error; rather it is best characterized as a nonlinear dynamic system. The system consists of a cycle of divergent and convergent activities that may be repeated over time and at different organizational levels if enabling and constraining conditions are present.
This divergent-convergent cycle is found to be the underlying dynamic that explains the development of corporate cultures for innovation, learning among innovation team members, leadership behaviors of top managers or investors, building relationships and joint ventures with other organizations, and developing an industrial infrastructure for innovation. Resource investments and organizational structure enable this innovation cycle, while external institutional rules and internal focus draw the boundaries of the journey. The authors conclude with advice for innovation managers and entrepreneurs: learn to "go with the flow," because while they can learn to maneuver through the innovation journey, they cannot control its flow.
This divergent-convergent cycle is found to be the underlying dynamic that explains the development of corporate cultures for innovation, learning among innovation team members, leadership behaviors of top managers or investors, building relationships and joint ventures with other organizations, and developing an industrial infrastructure for innovation. Resource investments and organizational structure enable this innovation cycle, while external institutional rules and internal focus draw the boundaries of the journey. The authors conclude with advice for innovation managers and entrepreneurs: learn to "go with the flow," because while they can learn to maneuver through the innovation journey, they cannot control its flow.
Reviews / Votes
One of the most elaborate studies of temporal and processual aspects of innovation that applies longitudinal tracking of innovations ... offers guidance to innovation managers and entrepreneurs who need to know more than the starting conditions and investments that are required to achieve desired outcomes ... a nice example of productive research management in innovation research. Organization StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
line ill., tab.
line illustrations, tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-19-513307-3 (9780195133073)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
1. Introduction and Overview; 2. Mapping the Innovation Journey; 3. Learning the Innovation Journey; 4. Leading the Innovation Journey; 5. Managing Relationships During the Innovation Journey; 6. Building an Infrastructure for the Innovation Journey; 7. Cycling the Innovation Journey; Appendices; The Innovation Journey Within an Internal Corporate Structure - The CIP Case; The Innovation Journey as an Inter-Organizational Joint Venture - The TAP Case; The Innovation Journey in a New Company Startup - The Qnetics Case