CORPORATE CHAMPIONS OF EARLY-STAGE PROJECT PROPOSALS AND THE INSTITUTIONALISATION OF ORGANISATIONAL INERTIA

Heidi M. J. Bertels (), Murad Mithani, Siwei Zhu and Peter A. Koen
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Heidi M. J. Bertels: Lucille and Jay Chazanoff School of Business, College of Staten Island, The City University of New York, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
Murad Mithani: #x2020;School of Business, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
Siwei Zhu: #x2021;Paseka School of Business, Minnesota State University Moorhead, 1104 7th Avenue South, Moorhead, MN 56563, USA
Peter A. Koen: #x2020;School of Business, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), 2019, vol. 24, issue 03, 1-30

Abstract: This study looks at the role of champions in the early stages of the product development process, when employees try to secure initial funding for project proposals. Project proposals that fail to receive funding never become part of the firm’s project pipeline; hence, it is critical to understand the champion’s role early on. Existing research on corporate champions is mostly focused on the later stages of the new product development process and has generally identified corporate champions as key to projects likely to face organisational resistance. However, several recent studies suggest that champions may prefer projects less likely to face organisational resistance. Using data from project proposals of executive MBA students across 78 large organisations, we find that champion support for the team is weaker for project proposals likely to evoke resistance and that such lower champion support further reduces the likelihood of high-resistance early-stage proposals to receive initial funding.

Keywords: Champions; innovation; predevelopment; front end of innovation; fuzzy front end; intrapreneurship; corporate entrepreneurship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1142/S1363919620500280

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