Mixing Methods in Innovation Research: Studying the Process-Culture-Link in Innovation Management

Authors

  • Jens O. Meissner Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
  • Martin Sprenger Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-11.3.1560

Keywords:

innovation dynamics, process-culture-link, multi-method research

Abstract

Two trends in innovation management have influenced the basic idea of this paper. The first trend shows increased attempts by managers to utilize linear innovation processes derived from literature and from practice. The second trend is an increasing acceptance of the dynamics created in an "innovation culture," as being one of the key drivers of innovation. Both approaches partially contrast each other. Researching the literature in more detail, we found that studies explaining the link between innovation culture and innovation project management are rare. Indeed there is a study by Shona BROWN and Kathleen EISENHARDT (1995) which gives an excellent overview of innovation management research, but again the issue of "culture" was lacking. This missing link between innovation process design and innovation culture at the firm-level provides the theoretical framework of this paper. Behind the scenes of innovation management studies, we realized a methodological gap existed between the research of innovation cultures and their impact upon an organization's innovation processes. Thus, we applied a methodological mix of problem-centered interviews, structural analyses, and context analyses to study the phenomenon. We conducted an interview-based single case study in a Swiss telecommunications company. From these methodologies we created a themed landscape comprising relational topics of the innovation dynamics within an innovation project in the company (one year duration) and briefly described each topic. The main finding in our study is the dynamic role-model that innovation managers in large service firms have to apply to succeed in their innovation management work. Thus, our methodological mix proved to be helpful, although some weaknesses remain to be solved in the future. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1003134

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Author Biographies

Jens O. Meissner, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Jens O. MEISSNER is professor for Organization Studies and Innovation Management at Lucerne's University of Applied Sciences and Arts and visiting lecturer at the University of Hanover. Jens studied Economics and Management at the German University of Witten/Herdecke. He worked in the field of Organizational Development for E.on Energie in Hanover and Munich, for the Berlin-based e-government consultancy Public One, and as consultant in Washington, D.C. He received his doctoral degree in Organizational Communication from Basel University. His research interests lie within the intersection of Organizational Design Work and Innovation Management. Strongly influenced by the concepts of Newer Sociological Systems Theory, his research is based primarily on qualitative research methods.

Martin Sprenger, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Martin SPRENGER is research associate at the Competence Centre General Management at Lucerne's University of Applied Sciences and Arts. He is also PhD candidate at the University of Zurich. His research interest includes Innovation Management as well as Human Resource Management.

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Published

2010-09-30

How to Cite

Meissner, J. O., & Sprenger, M. (2010). Mixing Methods in Innovation Research: Studying the Process-Culture-Link in Innovation Management. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-11.3.1560