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Authority and Managing Innovation: A Typology of Product Development Teams and Communities
Author(s) -
Koch Anne H.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
creativity and innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1467-8691
pISSN - 0963-1690
DOI - 10.1111/caim.12001
Subject(s) - typology , business , function (biology) , knowledge management , product (mathematics) , competitive advantage , product innovation , productivity , new product development , conceptual framework , marketing , sociology , economics , computer science , geometry , mathematics , macroeconomics , evolutionary biology , anthropology , biology , social science
Understanding the conditions under which organizational groups operate is basic for successfully managing innovation. The goal of this article is to provide a typology for distinguishing different forms of communities and teams that promote innovation. Existing typologies are incomplete because they neither look at procedural and institutional authority simultaneously, nor include all kinds of groups used for progressing innovation. This article pays particular attention to two key variables that impact productivity, namely the relationship of groups to institutional and procedural authority. Four groups, autonomous and functional teams and communities of practice and epistemic communities, are linked to the two dimensions. Accordingly, the article provides a conceptual framework for understanding how various groups function and manage themselves in subtle, different ways. By choosing various innovation groups for different purposes, firms can respond to change and create a competitive advantage. Intervention strategies that help to achieve successful innovation outcomes of groups are discussed. Finally, the article suggests further research areas.