Growing competition, globalisation and changing circumstances make innovation a prerequisite for the growth, success and survival of any private or public organisation. While innovation in technology, production, marketing and finance all remain essential, it is innovation in management that is most desperately in short supply. A literature study could not reveal the existence of any scale that measures all the factors and processes relevant to organisational innovation. A scale for managerial innovation was developed. This scale is based on the work of various researchers in the field of innovation. The major tasks in the process were connected to the structural arrangements and social patterns that facilitate the tasks are discussed. Innovation consists of a set of processes carried out at the micro-level, by individuals and groups of individuals, and these micro-processes are in turn stimulated, facilitated and enhanced - or the opposite - by a set of macro-structural conditions. A semantic differential scale was developed to measure managerial innovation. The scale consists of 88 items and was designed to reflect the major factors and processes of organisational innovation. Various statistical tests were used to evaluate the scale and data obtained through the scale. Five Factors were identified after the data was analysed using factor analysis. The five factors are Factor 1 (leadership and culture), Factor 2 (employee acquisition and development), Factor 3 (variables that facilitate problem solving and aid in innovation), Factor 4 (variables that impact negatively on innovation), and Factor 5 (variables external to the organisation that influence innovation). The Alpha Cronbach test for reliability showed a very high degree of reliability and the scale conformed to the criteria of content validity. Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) was used to perform comparative analysis on the biographical variables. The relationships between age, gender, level of education, industry, length of service, and the combined effect of age and gender, age and length of service, gender and industry, and gender and length of service and the five factors were analysed. Age seems to play a significant role in Factor 1 and Factor 2 (i.e. leadership and culture as well as employee acquisition and development). For Factor 1 and Factor 2 average achievement in terms of innovation seems to increase with age. With regard to Factor 3, 4 and 5 age does not seem to impact on achievement significantly. The results of this study indicate that there are no significant relationship between gender and innovation. The results of this study indicate that there is a positive relationship between level of education and innovation for Factors 3, 4 and 5. It was found to differ significantly between the levels for two factors, namely Factor 1: leadership and culture, and Factor 2: employee acquisition and development. They seem to decline as the level of education increases. The results of this study indicate that for all five factors there seem to be a very significant difference in average achievement when individuals from different industries are compared. The results of this study indicate that there is not a significant relationship between length of service and innovation. The ANOVA results for combined variables indicate a significant difference in average achievement Factor 1 (leadership and culture) when the research participants are grouped based on both age and gender. In general, males of any age group tested equal to or higher than their female counterparts for Factor 1. Also apparent from the results is that generally the scores for Factor 1 seemed to increase with age. For Factor 2, 3, 4, and 5 there is no significant difference in achievement when participants are grouped according to age and gender. The results of the tests for difference in achievement when the research participants are grouped according to age and length of service, do not indicate that there is any significant difference in average achievement between the groups. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Ph. D. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Universities of Technology are an essential institutional type in South African higher education. However, their performance often lags behind that of traditional and comprehensive universities, which inspires the need to use research to seek ways of improving them. This study focuses on the interconnection between transformational and transactional leadership, organisational innovation and performance in South African universities of technology. Performance was measured based on the balanced scorecard perspective. The study followed a quantitative method, using the views of 387 academic and non-academic professional respondents drawn from three South African universities of technology. Hypotheses were tested using correlations and regression analysis. The study identified three transformational leadership factors, namely idealised influence, intellectual stimulation and inspirational leadership that are relevant to the tested relationship. Six performance dimensions, namely internal growth, financial performance, internal processes, customer satisfaction, learning, and grants and income were also identified and used to measure performance. The three transformational leadership factors, idealised influence, intellectual stimulation and inspirational leadership all correlated with and predicted innovation. In turn, innovation correlated with and predicted the six performance factors (internal growth, financial performance, internal processes, customer satisfaction, learning, and grants and income). The study indicates that the transformational leadership style has a direct positive effect on institutional innovation in universities of technology. Furthermore, innovation is an important driver of performance. Therefore, universities of technology that place an emphasis on transformational leadership and innovation are likely to register superior performance.

Innovare verso un modello per Intensità delle Cure (IdC) offre agli ospedali importanti potenzialità di miglioramento, tanto a livello di qualità delle cure quanto sul piano organizzativo e gestionale. L’introduzione del modello IdC può tuttavia implicare sostanziali modifiche nell’organizzazione sociale del lavoro clinico, modificando relazioni, confini e identità professionali. La tesi esamina i reciproci effetti tra il modello IdC e l’organizzazione sociale del lavoro ospedaliero. Il disegno di ricerca è organizzato in tre fasi: una estensiva analisi documentale, uno studio esplorativo basato su interviste qualitative semi-strutturate, uno caso di studio etnografico in profondità condotto in un ospedale recentemente organizzato secondo il modello IdC. I risultati sono organizzati in tre studi. Il primo mostra come il cambiamento IdC sia stato diversamente interpretato dai manager ospedalieri e dai clinici in prima linea con i pazienti, costituendo così due discordanti ‘narrative di cambiamento’. Il secondo studio si focalizza sugli ostacoli alla creazione di team multidisciplinari negli ospedali IdC. Il terzo studio esamina l’impatto del modello IdC su relazioni e confini professionali tra medici e infermieri. Oltre a contribuire alle teorie socio-psicologiche riguardo a confini e identità professionali, la tesi propone riflessioni concrete su come colmare il divario tra programmi innovativi formali e pratiche di cura quotidiane. / The Patient-Centred Model (PCM) is described as an attempt to redesign the hospitals around the needs of the patients, thus contributing to costs reduction, increased efficiency, and improved care. However, the introduction of the PCM may have a profound impact on the social organisation of work, changing lines of demarcation, challenging well established inter-/intra-professional relationships, and prompting the development of new roles and modes of working. This thesis explores the mutual effects between the new organisational model and the pre-existent social organisation of hospital work. The research design is organised in three phases: an extensive document analysis; an interview study; an in-depth ethnographic case study conducted for over one year in a PCM hospital. The findings are organised in three studies. The first shows that the PCM was interpreted differently by hospital managers and by frontline clinicians, thus giving rise to two divergent narratives of change. The second study focuses on the boundaries to collaboration and care integration in newly created hospital teams within PCM hospitals. The third study looks at the impact of the PCM on the medical-nursing boundary. The thesis contributes to management learning and practice by providing recommendations on how to accompany complex innovations, comprising of both their expected and unexpected consequences. It also enriches academic debates on professional boundaries, relations, and identities in healthcare.

This is a study of innovation in Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) and the impact innovation has on employment. The thesis relies on theories within the fields of "innovation in services", in particular KIBS, and "innovation and employment", taking as its point of departure the taxonomy of product and process innovation. The thesis is based on a discussion of innovation in services with a focus on how innovation in services may be understood and delineated. A long discussion is dedicated to the taxonomy of product and process innovation and the extent to which these concepts may be applicable to innovation in services. The thesis also scrutinises the concept of KIBS and how this can be defined. It further discusses features commonly associated with KIBS firms. The thesis is also rooted in the broader issue of innovation as a creator and destroyer of employment and makes a contribution in applying these issues to service sectors. The empirical part of the thesis builds on a database compiled for the research project, comprised of 967 Swedish KIBS firms. The database covers issues of innovation, employment and characteristics of the firm. The findings indicate that innovation was common in Swedish KIBS firms and that innovations often had an impact on employment. However, the thesis did not detect a straightforward relation between type of innovation (technological process innovation, organisational process innovation, goods product innovation and service product innovation) and the impact on employment. Explanations other than type of innovation have to be considered to analyse the impact of innovation on employment. The thesis further suggests that although innovation in KIBS is common, innovation itself is difficult to conceptualise and delineate.

Innovation and creativity are regarded as key drivers for organisational innovative success. Organisations that do not have a strategic focus on innovation and creativity and do not have a culture fostering innovative behaviour, will find it difficult to survive in these turbulent times. The innovative ability of organisations depends heavily on all employees at all levels of the organisation. Innovations driven by employees are known as EDI and creativity. Even though organisations understand the importance of EDI, a significant number of barriers within organisations still hamper EDI and creativity. The study was exploratory in nature and provided valuable insights into determining whether supervisory behaviour and the internal work environment had an impact on EDI and creativity in an ODeL institution in South Africa. A quantitative survey design was selected for this study. A census approach was followed, and primary quantitative data were collected from a subgroup within the identified institution, using self-administered electronic questionnaires. Through the process of exploratory factor analysis, five supervisory behaviour/management factors and five internal work environment factors were identified. The supervisory behaviour/management factors included supervisory support, management support, innovation management, innovative leadership, and team innovation. The internal work environment factors included organisational innovation culture, innovation mechanisms, innovative opportunities, risk-taking tolerance, and dedication to innovation. Correlation and structural equation modelling were conducted. The results indicate a relationship between supervisory behaviour and the internal work environment with regard to EDI and creativity. Recommendations regarding supervisory behaviour and creating enabling work environments to enhance and support EDI and creativity are made. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)