Zugl.: Siegen, Univ., Diss., 2008

Zugl.: Kaiserslautern, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2008

St. Gallen, Univ., Diss., 2008.

Zugl.: Diss. Univ. Siegen, 2008.

Diss. Techn. Univ. München, 2009. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).

Diss. Techn. Univ. München, 2009. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).

Thesis (M. Ed. (Education))--Rhodes University, 2006. / In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Education (Education Leadership and Management).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität St. Gallen, 2007.

Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In today’s business environment it is widely accepted that innovation is key to improving the economic performance of companies (Van der Panna et al. 2003) and for achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage in the market place. Based on the definition of radical innovation, a radical innovation project involves a high level of “newness” (Damanpour 1996), which in turn leads to high levels of complexity and uncertainty. However, it is difficult to manage these high levels of complexity and uncertainty within the structured framework of the traditional project management bodies of knowledge (Williams 2005). The following problem was thus formulated: Project management concepts alone, captured in the various bodies of knowledge, are not sufficient enough to successfully manage radical innovation projects. Companies therefore struggle to gain a competitive advantage through innovation, as the implementation of the radical innovation is seldom successful. The thesis presents a methodology termed the “Innovation Implementation Methodology” (IIM), which combines a range of components and concepts that support radical innovation projects. The IIM combines concepts such as knowledge management, project and team integration, project principles, design objectives, prototypes and risk and change management into four main components. Each component provides a different view of the radical innovation project. These views include: • A view of the different levels of detail required, • A view of the roles and responsibilities, • A view of the project structure and team integration, and • A scientific and experimental view.

abstract: As global competition continues to grow more disruptive, organizational change is an ever-present reality that affects companies in all industries at both the operational and strategic level. Organizational change capabilities have become a necessary aspect of existence for organizations in all industries worldwide. Research suggests that more than half of all organizational change efforts fail to achieve their original intended results, with some studies quoting failure rates as high as 70 percent. Exasperating this problem is the fact that no single change methodology has been universally accepted. This thesis examines two aspect of organizational change: the implementation of tactical and strategic initiatives, primarily focusing on successful tactical implementation techniques. This research proposed that tactical issues typically dominate the focus of change agents and recipients alike, often to the detriment of strategic level initiatives that are vital to the overall value and success of the organizational change effort. The Delphi method was employed to develop a tool to facilitate the initial implementation of organizational change such that tactical barriers were minimized and available resources for strategic initiatives were maximized. Feedback from two expert groups of change agents and change facilitators was solicited to develop the tool and evaluate its impact. Preliminary pilot testing of the tool confirmed the proposal and successfully served to minimize tactical barriers to organizational change. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Construction 2011