From initiatives to employee-driven innovations

Arja Haapasaari, Yrjö Engeström and Hannele Kerosuo

European Journal of Innovation Management, 2017, vol. 21, issue 2, 206-226

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the generation of innovations by employees and the creation of initiative paths, and to discover which factors contribute to the implementation of an initiative. Design/methodology/approach - Based on longitudinal qualitative research, the study explores the profiles of initiative paths and the types of innovations and relationships among the generated innovations. Findings - It was found that, to become an innovation, an initiative followed different paths along which the processing and outcomes varied, as did the time needed for experimentation. The creation of initiative paths required the transformative agency of the actors involved. Power relations had an impact on the generation of initiatives and implementation of innovations. Originality/value - Innovations research has concentrated on the generation of ideas and the implementation of innovations. This study focuses on the process path along which ideas become innovations and on the role of power relations in the innovations process.

Keywords: Innovation; Activity theory; Power relations; Path creation; Transformative agency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ejimpp:ejim-09-2016-0085

DOI: 10.1108/EJIM-09-2016-0085

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