The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Innovation

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Workplace Innovation in Contexts

   1. Frontmatter

   2. 1. The Introduction: An Overview to Workplace Innovation Research

      Chamindika Weerakoon, Adela McMurray

      Abstract

      The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview to workplace innovation research and to rationalise the book’s focus. Growth trajectories and key knowledge clusters were uncovered by a citation network generated from 144 workplace innovation publications sourced from a systematic literature search executed in the Scopus database. The analysis identified the presence of six main knowledge clusters residing in leadership and organisational culture; forms of work organisation and quality of work; employee participation; occupational stress; occupational safety including health innovation and innovation in the social aspects of organisation. Future research areas were suggested in terms of level of analysis in research designs, organisational behaviour and practice, research contexts and research design methods. These provided the rationalisation of the book’s focus which is organised under the following six areas: workplace innovation in contexts, determinants, processes, outcomes, transformations and ecosystems.

   3. 2. The Vital Elements of Organizational Innovation

      Don Scott, Adela McMurray

      Abstract

      The innovation literature is rich and diverse spanning across numerous disciplines to generate multiple diverse findings. This integrative study summarizes the literature to create a novel macro-model comprised of the six elements of climate, culture, structure, leadership, management and environment. The model has utility for academics and practitioners when developing an assessment of an organization’s innovation process and understanding the vital elements impacting on this process.

   4. 3. Developing Workplace Innovation Policies in the European Union

      Frank Pot, Peter Totterdill, Steven Dhondt

      Abstract

      Developing organisational performance and job quality simultaneously has been an issue in European countries since the introduction of ‘scientific management’ more than 100 years ago. How to prevent ‘deskilling’ and ‘intensification’? After the Second World War policies have been developed to improve both productivity and job quality by, amongst other things, stimulating management—worker cooperation. However, these endeavours had to be reinforced regularly because the market mechanism does not provide a good jobs economy by itself. From the 1990s, the European Union developed a series of policies on ‘work organisation’, later ‘workplace innovation’. The newest challenge is to complement technological innovation with workplace innovation.

   5. 4. Workplace Innovation in Practice: Experiences from the UK

      Peter Totterdill, Rosemary Exton

      Abstract

      Workplace innovation is defined both by process and outcomes. It describes a participatory process of innovation leading to empowering workplace practices which, in turn, sustain continuing experimentation, learning, reflection and change. Workplace innovation is an inherently social process, building skills and competence through creative collaboration. It provides global concepts and practices as generative resources which organisational actors contextualise as ‘local theories’ to fit local circumstances. This chapter draws on UK experiences to demonstrate the nature of workplace innovation as a journey of learning and experimentation, one which can be stimulated and resourced by targeted support from policymakers. Lessons from these experiences relating to the design and implementation of future interventions are of wider relevance to enterprises, policymakers and other stakeholders internationally.

   6. 5. Workplace Innovation in Government Organizations and Its Relationship with Organizational Culture

      Leonie Newnham

      Abstract

      This chapter addresses the relationship between organizational culture and workplace innovation in a public sector organization. The study identifies how organizational culture impacts on a public sector organization’s ability to innovate. The research was conducted within the context of a large public sector organisation in Victoria, Australia.. A case study approach was utilized using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach based on a survey of 479 employees. Triangulation with qualitative data sourced from the survey and internal documents corroborated the findings. Public sector culture was identified as a significant antecedent of workplace innovation predicting 24.6% of variation and identifying significant variation in individual innovation, organizational innovation, team innovation and workplace innovation climate, which impacted an employee’s capacity to innovate. Group-level culture was particularly influential.

3. Determinants of Workplace Innovation

   1. Frontmatter

   2. 6. The Relationship Between Corporate Entrepreneurship Climate and Innovativeness: A National Study

      Adela McMurray, Gerrit A. de Waal, Don Scott, Jerome D. Donovan

      Abstract

      Innovativeness is recognized as a central property of corporate entrepreneurship (CE), yet past findings were inconsistent when identifying this relationship. Drawing on a sample of 1415 Australian organizations, the study investigates the assumption that management support for CE, rewards/reinforcement, work discretion, organizational boundaries and time availability comprise the CE climate. A second assumption addresses how CE climate (CEC) contributes to innovativeness. The findings confirm the existence of an overarching (second-order) CEC construct and a statistically significant positive relationship with innovativeness. The two factors of management support for CE and rewards/reinforcement are strongly associated with innovativeness, thus supporting a distinction between CE climate factors.

   3. 7. Innovating for the Future: Understanding Organizational Culture in Changing Cambodia

      Andrew Henck

      Abstract

      This case study takes place in the Cambodia country office of an international NGO (nongovernmental organization). During a 3-month culture study in this Southeast Asian country, employees and senior leaders sought to better understand their current organizational culture in light of a forthcoming global strategic planning process. Through interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), the current and aspired culture is diagnosed and priority gaps are identified. The implications for workplace innovation are discussed and recommendations for practice are offered.

   4. 8. The Predictive Influences of Team Creativity, Creativity Willingness, Creative Ideation, and Leader Openness on Exploratory Innovation

      Samuel Ogbeibu, Abdelhak Senadjki, James Gaskin, Iddrisu Mohammed Awal

      Abstract

      Over the years, team creativity and exploratory innovation capabilities have experienced a decline in the Nigerian manufacturing industry. Therefore, we attempt to bolster the foundations of team creativity by examining and integrating the concept of “creativity willingness” into team creativity dimensions. To advance insights into how team creativity could engender exploratory innovation, we also investigate the predictive powers of creative ideation and leader openness. We find that creativity willingness predicts creative ideation, and creative ideation predicts exploratory innovation. Our findings indicate that while creative ideation mediates the positive predictions of creativity skills and task motivation, it largely complements the predictions of expertise and creativity willingness.

   5. 9. The Dialogical Approach to Workplace Innovation

      Hans Chr. Garmann Johnsen, Clare Hildebrandt, Hildegunn Aslaksen, Richard Ennals, Jon P. Knudsen

      Abstract

      This chapter presents a Nordic-based research approach, aimed at encouraging dialogical processes and broad participation at work, in order to support workplace innovation. The approach has been implemented in Norway and Sweden. The chapter (a) presents the theoretical underpinning related to the dialogical approach to workplace innovation; (b) presents findings from three large successive workplace innovation programmes based on this foundation in Norway; (c) connects (a) and (b) by presenting the programme designs, evaluations and research output and finally (d) reflects upon learning points from this programme history. The overall thesis is that the dialogical approach to workplace innovation has taken a large step forward through the Norwegian programmes. There is potential to further develop both the theoretical foundation for this approach and the methodology of dialogical change.

   6. 10. Barriers on Innovation in Australian Public Sector Organisations

      Mahmoud Moussa

      Abstract

      The diversity of interpretations of public sector innovation leads to a plethora of management strategies. These tendencies are evident in the literature. In this chapter, the author argues that barriers to innovation, leadership characteristics and organisational climate are activities that influence innovation processes. These determinants are not independent of each other but instead support and reinforce or offset one another. The in-depth analysis revealed that (a) barriers such as rules and regulations and funds and budget; (b) leadership characteristics such as strategic leadership, national leadership and inclusive leadership and (c) organisational climate issues such as workplace planning, measurement tools, initiatives, embracing diversity and collaboration and networking are critical factors that stimulate or hinder innovation in the public sector.