This dissertation presents the findings of an exploratory collective case-study examining
corporate innovations arising from voluntary dyadic engagement between UK firms and
nonprofit organisations (NPOs) focused on social issues.
Whilst the extant literature demonstrates that pro-active engagement with NPOs can
assist firms innovate, there has been no empirical work which explores the relationship
between the engagement and the innovation outcome: a gap which this research
addresses. In doing so, it illustrates how concepts and constructs from the innovation
management literature can be applied usefully to the stakeholder and cross-sector
collaboration field. To date, empirical studies addressing firm-NPO engagements have
concentrated overwhelmingly on partnerships to address environmental issues. This
study provides insights into cross-sector engagements focused on addressing social
issues.
Using a form of analytic induction to evaluate qualitative case-data from ten dyadic
engagements, this dissertation addresses the question: “how do firms innovate through
engagement with social issues nonprofit organisations?” The research found that
product and service innovations resulted from engagements where the firm had an
external stakeholder orientation and was focused on delivering tangible demonstrations
of corporate responsibility. Process innovations, by contrast, were produced from
engagements where firms had an internal stakeholder orientation. Two distinctions
were noted in the innovation process, too. Firstly, a more exploratory approach to
dyadic engagement activities, which resulted in an emergent innovation process; and
secondly, a focused and pre-determined search activity to exploit the resources of the
nonprofit partner which demonstrated a more planned innovation process. In addition,
two distinct boundary spanning roles were identified: in dyads with no direct
management involvement in the engagement, the role was associated with formal
responsibilities from senior management to „manage‟ innovation opportunities and
outcomes. In dyads where senior management were involved, there was no such
formality; the boundary spanner acted to „facilitate‟ search and exploration to locate
opportunities for innovation through idea exchange.
The application of innovation constructs to the business and society field has enabled
firm engagement with nonprofit stakeholders to be examined through a new lens and
demonstrated how firms innovate from such relationships. In particular it has
highlighted the key role played by the firm boundary spanner (relationship manager)
and how this role alters depending on senior management involvement: a distinction
which has not been made in the extant literature and would benefit from further
examination.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:CRANFIELD1/oai:dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk:1826/5573 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Holmes, Sara |
| Contributors | Smart, Palie, Spitzeck, Heiko |
| Publisher | Cranfield University |
| Source Sets | CRANFIELD1 |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or dissertation, Doctoral, DBA |
| Rights | © Cranfield University, 2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder. |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds