Promoting innovation in corporate projects through leadership practices

Sivasubramanian, S

Promoting innovation in corporate projects through leadership practices

Sivasubramanian, S

Permalink

Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2013

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download contents and abstractAdobe PDF (504.31 kB)

Adobe PDF

Download thesisAdobe PDF (1.75 MB)

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sivasubramanian, S
dc.date.accessioned	2013-09-04T04:47:01Z
dc.date.available	2013-09-04T04:47:01Z
dc.date.issued	2013
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23475
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.	en_US
dc.description.abstract	Despite innovation being a highly researched topic and organisations embracing innovation as a part of their strategic fabric, achieving or replicating successful innovation remains largely elusive. While the literature on this topic identifies a rich set of factors that aid innovation - outlining successful innovation scenarios in case studies - it also reflects a gap in our understanding of how to replicate successful innovation. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the research outlined in this dissertation focuses on addressing the issue of a firm’s capability with respect to continuous innovation, particularly in a project environment. As the knowledge sought is social in nature, the research was located within the constructionist paradigm and utilised an action research methodology. As such, the environment in which innovation is achieved and replicated is assumed to be an inter-subjectively realised social phenomenon. The research was conducted within the three corporate projects in TNC, a hi-tech multinational corporation. In two of these projects successive innovative outcomes were achieved and this was shown to be primarily as a result of particular leadership practices embedded in the project environment. These practices underpinned the creation of a social environment (or project-culture) in which the team members were able to create innovative solutions to challenging assignments. In particular, such practices promoted holistic understanding of issues, encouraged calculated risk, managed delivery pressures, and facilitated cross-functional collaboration. Significantly the cultural milieu in which successive innovative project outcomes were achieved was very different to that of the parent organisation. The main conclusion drawn from this research is that the role of ‘local leadership’ (middle, and project, management) in an organisation’s capacity to innovate continuously is more important than is reflected in the literature. In particular, the nature of the leadership practices that inform innovative action within the corporate project environment requires further research and scrutiny.	en_US
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/23475/5/02whole.pdf
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/ppc
dc.subject	Leadership.	en
dc.subject	Technological innovation.	en
dc.subject	Creative ability.	en
dc.subject	Business.	en
dc.title	Promoting innovation in corporate projects through leadership practices	en_US
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access

Abstract:

Despite innovation being a highly researched topic and organisations embracing innovation as a part of their strategic fabric, achieving or replicating successful innovation remains largely elusive. While the literature on this topic identifies a rich set of factors that aid innovation - outlining successful innovation scenarios in case studies - it also reflects a gap in our understanding of how to replicate successful innovation. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the research outlined in this dissertation focuses on addressing the issue of a firm’s capability with respect to continuous innovation, particularly in a project environment. As the knowledge sought is social in nature, the research was located within the constructionist paradigm and utilised an action research methodology. As such, the environment in which innovation is achieved and replicated is assumed to be an inter-subjectively realised social phenomenon. The research was conducted within the three corporate projects in TNC, a hi-tech multinational corporation. In two of these projects successive innovative outcomes were achieved and this was shown to be primarily as a result of particular leadership practices embedded in the project environment. These practices underpinned the creation of a social environment (or project-culture) in which the team members were able to create innovative solutions to challenging assignments. In particular, such practices promoted holistic understanding of issues, encouraged calculated risk, managed delivery pressures, and facilitated cross-functional collaboration. Significantly the cultural milieu in which successive innovative project outcomes were achieved was very different to that of the parent organisation. The main conclusion drawn from this research is that the role of ‘local leadership’ (middle, and project, management) in an organisation’s capacity to innovate continuously is more important than is reflected in the literature. In particular, the nature of the leadership practices that inform innovative action within the corporate project environment requires further research and scrutiny.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23475