Sergejs Groskovs and John P. Ulhøi
It does not always take a heroic CEO to initiate a major transformation such as business model innovation. A middle manager with a personal drive and a sense of need for change…
Abstract
Purpose
It does not always take a heroic CEO to initiate a major transformation such as business model innovation. A middle manager with a personal drive and a sense of need for change may well jump-start this process. This paper aims to offer a simple framework and a set of practical guidelines for engaging the broader organisation in business model search and change activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on research in entrepreneurship, organisational change and strategic renewal; develops a set of managerial guidelines; and illustrates those with practical examples.
Findings
Business model innovation is an iterative, dynamic and continuous process of search and change activities. Key practical guidelines to manage this process include understanding the environment, ensuring resources and funding, engaging entrepreneurial individuals, committing senior management, firm orchestration of the change process and involvement of middle management and employees.
Practical implications
The framework allows for structuring a business model innovation and offers key guidelines for the journey, thus enabling an entrepreneurial middle manager to lead the effort.
Originality/value
Despite that business model innovation is normally considered the domain of the CEO, this paper shows that middle managers can also play a key role in the process. The value of the paper lies in the simplicity and practicality of the framework.
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Siqi Han, John P. Ulhøi and Hua Song
The purpose of this study is to examine how existing supply chain finance challenges confronting SMEs are affected by the emergence of smart fintech providers. In so doing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how existing supply chain finance challenges confronting SMEs are affected by the emergence of smart fintech providers. In so doing the paper aims at uncovering critical role of fintech service provision in SCF and associated mechanisms that affect the SCF partners.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth case study approach has been applied in this study. The overall design is informed by a 5-stage-based case study approach developed in operation management, including the literature review and research question, followed by case selection and instrument development, the data gathering, the analysis and findings and dissemination.
Findings
The study shows that fintech service provider is capable of offering different digital technologies adapted to specific needs while concomitantly orchestrating the information flow across the partners. Key mechanisms that influence the establishment of trust-based relationships among the SCF partners, and related service processes and value creation based on the platform system architecture are explained.
Practical implications
Several practical implications for digital platform management and other key digital SCF partners are identified.
Originality/value
This paper contributes a novel perspective on the importance of digital trust in SCF and also contributes to the existing literature by filling up a gap with a new and fine-grained understanding of the role of fintech companies in SCF.
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Sladjana Vujovic and John Parm Ulhøi
The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of online networking during the innovation process, including its role(s) in communication, cooperation and coordination. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of online networking during the innovation process, including its role(s) in communication, cooperation and coordination. The paper neither implicitly assumes that online computer‐based networking is a prerequisite for the innovation process nor denies the possibility that innovation can emerge and successfully survive without it. It merely presupposes that, in cases of innovation where information and communication technologies play a substantial role, non‐proprietarity may offer an interesting alternative to innovations based on proprietary knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper borrows from the theory of communities‐of‐practice, which takes into account social relations, contacts, and the transfer and incorporation of knowledge. Open source innovation is not the exclusive preserve of computer nerds, but also has implications for existing software manufacturers. The paper therefore includes the case of IBM, a company which has successfully integrated this new and more open way of collaboration into its business model.
Findings
The paper concludes that online computer‐based innovation fundamentally challenges current ways of communicating, cooperating and coordinating during the innovation and product development process. Moreover, it challenges the traditional business model in that it forces the actors involved to shift the focus from the innovation itself to the identification of new supporting services higher up the value chain. Last, but not least, it blurs the boundary between development and use, since the developer remains the key user.
Research limitations/implications
The paper addresses the implications for future research in the area.
Practical implications
The paper addresses implications for practitioners directly involved in innovation and product development.
Originality/value
This paper develops a conceptual framework for understanding product development based on non‐proprietary knowledge, which cannot be adequately accounted for by traditional corporate innovation theory alone.
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Henning Madsen and John P. Ulhøi
The education and training of the workforce has long been recognised as an essential ingredient in promoting and implementing environmental management practices in business…
Abstract
The education and training of the workforce has long been recognised as an essential ingredient in promoting and implementing environmental management practices in business organisations. So far, however, even in leading companies, little information has been available on how environmental management practice and related educational and training requirements are translated into the provision of training courses by educational institutions. To address this important question an EU‐sponsored research project was initiated. The project has focused on senior environmental managers; middle (predominantly technical) managers; and skilled and semi‐skilled workers and lower categories of managers. It has been based partly on interviews in a small number of European companies as well as educational and training institutions, and partly on more large‐scale questionnaire surveys. This paper briefly describes the background of the overall project, and in more detail a questionnaire‐based survey on environmental attitudes and training interests among Danish workers.
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This paper addresses innovations based on open source or non‐proprietary knowledge. Viewed through the lens of private property theory, such agency appears to be a true anomaly…
Abstract
This paper addresses innovations based on open source or non‐proprietary knowledge. Viewed through the lens of private property theory, such agency appears to be a true anomaly. However, by a further turn of the theoretical kaleidoscope, we will show that there may be perfectly justifiable reasons for not regarding open source innovations as anomalies. The paper is based on three sectorial and generic cases of open source innovation, which is an offspring of contemporary theory made possible by combining elements of the model of private agency with those of the model of collective agency. In closing, the paper addresses implications for further research, practitioners and other policy‐makers.
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Henning Madsen, Helle Neergaard and John P. Ulhøi
This paper discusses human capital in connection with the entrepreneurial processes in knowledge‐based new ventures. Until recently, research on the founding of new ventures has…
Abstract
This paper discusses human capital in connection with the entrepreneurial processes in knowledge‐based new ventures. Until recently, research on the founding of new ventures has focused mainly on the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs, but this trait approach tends to underestimate the role of crucial skills. The findings of this paper suggest that it is not so much inherent personality traits that influence the foundation and growth of new ventures as previous employment and entrepreneurial experience. The longer the career path prior to founding the venture, the more experience an entrepreneur has accumulated. Age thus seems to have a positive influence on the success of a newly founded venture. Furthermore, the dimensions of human capital, experience and previous employment seem to be essential in building the networks that help secure both early and continuing finance for the ventures.
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Arne Stjernholm Madsen and John P. Ulhøi
To provide an in‐depth empirical account demonstrating the danger of letting the innovative human resources of the business development function “slide” further out of orbit and…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an in‐depth empirical account demonstrating the danger of letting the innovative human resources of the business development function “slide” further out of orbit and thus becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the organisation can be further reinforced by a lack of serious attention at upper echelon managerial levels
Design/methodology/approach
This case study is based upon a participative action research methodology (for an overview of this methodology).
Findings
The practical innovation analysed in this study seems to have been both a success and a failure. The innovative and creative human resource within the Business Development Department did in fact rock the boat, but they were not so successful in finding a home and owner for the innovation.
Research limitations/implications
One of the important findings of this in‐depth study is that there seems to be a lack of trust and mutual understanding about the value of different managerial functions in a company.
Practical implications
With regard to the internal dimension, managers of R&D and/or BDD functions also need to realize that they play several key roles, ranging from securing the updating and further development of the human resources to handling the constraints of time and budget.
Originality/value
This article clearly demonstrates the danger in letting critical and innovative human resources become more and more isolated from the rest of the organisation with the inescapable result that the human resources in question felt being trapped by their own passion in a position as self‐righteous missionaries.
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Henning Madsen, Helle Neergaard and John P. Ulhøi
The importance of entrepreneurial activities and the establishment of new ventures for economic growth and employment have long been recognized. However, the interactions of…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of entrepreneurial activities and the establishment of new ventures for economic growth and employment have long been recognized. However, the interactions of underlying mechanisms whihc influence this process have not been understood all that well. In the light of this, a deeper understanding of various mechanisms on which knowledge‐intensive entrepreneurship hinges is needed. This paper aims to investigate how the make‐up of financial, human and social capital impacts on entrepreneurial action.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a longitudinal study using both structured survey and in‐depth interview techniques, this research addresses the role and importance of financial capital, human capital and social capital in the organizational genesis and early growth of entrepreneurial activities.
Findings
Financial capital remains the most critical asset in the entrepreneurial process. However, possessing the right mixture of human and social capital is often a prerequisite for accessing the best capital sources as well as sufficient capital. The value of human and social capital, however, depends largely on the industry environment.
Originality/value
The findings give weight and insight to the understanding that it is important, for policy‐makers for example, to tailor support initiatives to specific industries.
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Sladjana Nørskov, Peter Kesting and John Parm Ulhøi
This paper aims to present that deliberate change is strongly associated with formal structures and top-down influence. Hierarchical configurations have been used to structure…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present that deliberate change is strongly associated with formal structures and top-down influence. Hierarchical configurations have been used to structure processes, overcome resistance and get things done. But is deliberate change also possible without formal structures and hierarchical influence?
Design/methodology/approach
This longitudinal, qualitative study investigates an open-source software (OSS) community named TYPO3. This case exhibits no formal hierarchical attributes. The study is based on mailing lists, interviews and observations.
Findings
The study reveals that deliberate change is indeed achievable in a non-hierarchical collaborative OSS community context. However, it presupposes the presence and active involvement of informal change agents. The paper identifies and specifies four key drivers for change agents’ influence.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to organisational analysis by providing a deeper understanding of the importance of leadership in making deliberate change possible in non-hierarchical settings. It points to the importance of “change-by-conviction”, essentially based on voluntary behaviour. This can open the door to reducing the negative side effects of deliberate change also for hierarchical organisations.
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Peter Kesting and John Parm Ulhøi
The purpose of this paper is to outline the “grand structure” of the phenomenon in order to identify both the underlying processes and core drivers of employee‐driven innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the “grand structure” of the phenomenon in order to identify both the underlying processes and core drivers of employee‐driven innovation (EDI).
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper. It particularly applies the insights of contemporary research on routine and organizational decision making to the specific case of EDI.
Findings
The main result of the paper is that, from a theoretical point of view, it makes perfect sense to involve ordinary employees in innovation decisions. However, it is also outlined that naïve or ungoverned participation is counterproductive, and that it is quite difficult to realize the hidden potential in a supportive way.
Research limitations/implications
The main implication is that basic mechanisms for employee participation also apply to innovation decisions, although often in a different way. However, the paper only identifies the grand structure of the phenomenon. The different identified drivers have to be further elaborated and empirically tested.
Practical implications
EDI is a helpful tool to gain competitive advantage by utilizing the knowledge and creative potential of employees.
Originality/value
This is the first paper that gives a systematic overview of the grand structure of EDI and derives the most important moderating factors from that.