Three configurations of corporate innovation programs and their interplay

Abstract

Purpose The success of corporate innovation is based less upon the success of a single innovation program than on a holistic and overarching corporate innovation system integrating various activities. Taking this perspective, the purpose of this paper is to extend existing research on the design of innovation programs. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing an inductive theory-building case study approach, this study provides a detailed analysis of how one of the largest and most successful German technology companies structures its many innovation activities. Findings The analysis identifies key elements of innovation programs and suggests three configurations that illustrate how these generic elements can be structured so as to offer the best fit with the underlying logic of the respective innovation program. Furthermore, this study highlights how the identified configurations come together to deliver overarching strategic innovation goals. Originality/value Existing research too often focuses solely on single innovation programs. The current research is among the first to take a holistic and overarching perspective, considering different innovation programs within a single company and analyzing their configuration and their interplay.

Why Companies Have Multiple Corporate Entrepreneurship Units

“…Today's business environment shows that more and more established companies across different industries concurrently implement multiple CE units. This seems surprising, considering the combination of high resource intensity involved with such entrepreneurial activities [15] and the low level of knowledge about the overarching management of multiple CE units [16,17]. Research in recent years yielded insights about the effective management of single CE units [18].…”

“…Research in recent years yielded insights about the effective management of single CE units [18]. Yet, there is still a significant gap in the literature about the management of multiple CE units [17], meaning that scientific work does not describe and explain the phenomenon of multiple units. Consequently, to fully understand this, we take a step back and pose the question why companies implement multiple CE units.…”

Sistema corporativo de inovação: uma análise sob a perspectiva da firma conectada em rede

“…Desde então, a compreensão da perspectiva da firma conectada em rede representa a base para muitas pesquisas voltadas ao sistema corporativo de inovação (SCI). Kötting e Kuckertz (2019) propõem que as firmas devem escolher uma configuração do SCI a partir de seus objetivos e destacam que o alinhamento entre os vários atores da rede é fator-chave do sucesso de implementação. Assim, os programas de inovação devem ser considerados menos autônomos e isolados e mais como parte de um sistema holístico de inovação corporativa (MAINE, 2008;O'CONNOR e AYERS, 2005).…”