OPENING PANDORA’S BOX OF INNOVATION: AN EXPLORATION INTO THE FRAGMENTATION OF INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATIONS
(2010)Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Innovation is a popular concept among organizational researchers, all of whom tend to share a common consensus that it is highly important for organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, whether theoretically or conceptually presented, innovation has been widely described and argued as something which organizations can control and manage with a view to increase their levels of competitiveness. However, the importance of individual interpretations and sensemaking of the innovation discourse (i.e. the use of innovation as a general term in organizations) has, as a research area, been largely neglected. This thesis presents an in-depth study using an interpretative approach exploring on an individual level how workers at a knowledge intensive... (More)
- Innovation is a popular concept among organizational researchers, all of whom tend to share a common consensus that it is highly important for organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, whether theoretically or conceptually presented, innovation has been widely described and argued as something which organizations can control and manage with a view to increase their levels of competitiveness. However, the importance of individual interpretations and sensemaking of the innovation discourse (i.e. the use of innovation as a general term in organizations) has, as a research area, been largely neglected. This thesis presents an in-depth study using an interpretative approach exploring on an individual level how workers at a knowledge intensive firm interpret innovation. The study illuminates high levels of fragmentation in the way individuals understand the term by presenting four ideal types of innovators – the uncertain, the improver, the inventor, and the sceptic. In addition, an attempt is made to explore the origins of these interpretations though investigating an identity led approach to sensemaking that is argued to lie behind and determine the various views. Ultimately the knowledge contribution and aim of the study is two-fold: to steer innovation research into a new, more interpretive and theoretically free direction; and to critically question the use of innovation discourse within organizations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1623154
- author
- Malmqvist, Jonas ; Elliott, Daniel and Rakic, Milan
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2010
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Innovation, fragmentation, identity, discourse, sensemaking, Management of enterprises, Företagsledning, management
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1623154
- date added to LUP
- 2010-06-04 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2012-04-02 18:18:33
@misc{1623154,
abstract = {{Innovation is a popular concept among organizational researchers, all of whom tend to share a common consensus that it is highly important for organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, whether theoretically or conceptually presented, innovation has been widely described and argued as something which organizations can control and manage with a view to increase their levels of competitiveness. However, the importance of individual interpretations and sensemaking of the innovation discourse (i.e. the use of innovation as a general term in organizations) has, as a research area, been largely neglected. This thesis presents an in-depth study using an interpretative approach exploring on an individual level how workers at a knowledge intensive firm interpret innovation. The study illuminates high levels of fragmentation in the way individuals understand the term by presenting four ideal types of innovators – the uncertain, the improver, the inventor, and the sceptic. In addition, an attempt is made to explore the origins of these interpretations though investigating an identity led approach to sensemaking that is argued to lie behind and determine the various views. Ultimately the knowledge contribution and aim of the study is two-fold: to steer innovation research into a new, more interpretive and theoretically free direction; and to critically question the use of innovation discourse within organizations.}},
author = {{Malmqvist, Jonas and Elliott, Daniel and Rakic, Milan}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{OPENING PANDORA’S BOX OF INNOVATION: AN EXPLORATION INTO THE FRAGMENTATION OF INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATIONS}},
year = {{2010}},
}