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Overcoming Resistance to Innovation and Productivity Improvement| Lead Investigator : Prof. Neil Burns | Project Investigator: Dr Sue Morton | Timescales: Sept. 2006 - Dec 2008 | Project Outline: investigating organisation resistance to new knowledge, innovations and productivity improvement. identifying structural, situational and/or competence issues that inhibit knowledge utilisation. developing a framework of interventions for maximising innovative potential.
| Proposed Methods: | Key Messages from Our Research so far… Main project: Despite the current focus on radical/discontinuous/breakthrough innovation, much can still be gained by incremental/continuous innovation and learning from external sources. In a climate where long term employment can no longer be relied upon, the psychological contract between employer and employee plays a key role in innovation and organizational learning. Closer exploration is required of the ways in which learning takes place and what can prevent it from happening.
Collaborative project with Liverpool University: - Continuous Innovation Networks - 12 emergent survey themes
Loughborough Innovation Research Network (LIRN): - University wide communications forum on innovation.
- Capacity-building focus for enhancing personal & professional engagement
- "One-stop shop" for academic expertise and experience in multiple disciplines
- Exponential access to industry and industrial contact
- Evidence of multi-disciplinary network for proposals and funding bids
| Future Plans Main project: Further analysis and triangulation of data collected leading to framework development Correlation with extant theory & organizational measures on innovation/innovation potential Dissemination/discussion workshops Action research/testing of framework in a wider industrial population
Collaborative project with Liverpool University: - Ongoing investigation: pilot instrument; refinements through action research; roll out to other case studies
- Investigating how psychological models fit with the adoption of collaborative technologies as facilitative platforms for innovation practices.
LIRN: - Website development
- Capacity building seminar series: Doctoral Students, Industrialists
| Member Profile Professor Neil Burns [n.d.burns:lboro.ac.uk] Sandwich engineering degree at Brunel University sponsored by GEC, Industrial PhD sponsored by Bentley Engineering, a Manager at Unilever (1983-1988) and a Director of Morris Mechanical Handling Ltd (1988-1999). From 1988, joint role professor at Loughborough University - 50% industry based and 50% at University. Currently full-time Davy Professor of Manufacturing Organisation in the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University. Neil has broad interests and expertise in Manufacturing, Planning and Control; People related issues; and Business organisation. His research interests and activities include Human based planning and control; Transactions modelling in supply chains; Trust and regulation in production systems; and Organisation of manufacturing systems and supply systems. Dr Sue Morton [s.c.morton@lboro.ac.uk] PhD in Engineering from Loughborough University, an MSc in Computer Education (also Loughborough University), a first degree in Social Sciences (Open University), a qualified teacher of Further & Higher Education and a Registered Practitioner and Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Sue's current work involves in-depth case studies of industrial organizations that are coping with major competitive change to identify if there are structural, situational and/or competence issues that inhibit the utilization of knowledge. Her research and consultancy interests span innovation and productivity; social networks and the impact of network structures, particularly in relation to project/operations management and new product development; and the effect of globalization on these processes. | Links to other researchers Loughborough University Mrs Abeer Pharaon, Wolfson School Research Student: investigating innovation cultures and supporting organisations in establishing the climate for creativity. Mr John Withers, joint Civil Engineering/Business School/Psychology Research Associate: researching flow psychology and the relationship of flow states to innovation
LIRN: interdisciplinary network of researchers on innovation including Civil, Electronics & Electrical, Mechanical, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering; Art & Design; Business School; Psychology; Geography; Social Sciences; IP & Business Partnerships. Loughborough & Liverpool Universities collaborative research project: Dr Sue Morton and Dr Roula Michaelides - investigating the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on Continuous Innovation Networks. | News and upcoming events LIRN events 1st anniversary - November 2007 Website developments & launch - November 2007 Capacity Building: Doctoral Student seminar series - Inaugural event December 2007
| Outputs: Journal Contributions – Refereed - Brookes, N. J., S. C. Morton, A. R. J. Dainty, N. D. Burns (2006). Social Processes, Patterns and Practices and Project Knowledge Management: A theoretical framework and an empirical investigation, International Journal of Project Management. Volume 24, Issue 6, Pages: 474-482.
- Brookes, N. J., S. C. Morton, S. Grossman, P. Joesbury, D. Varnes (2007). Analyzing Social Capital to Improve Product Development Team Performance: Investigations in the Aerospace Industry with TRW and GKN, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. (publication November 2007).
Morton, S. C. and Burns, N. D. (2007). Understanding and Overcoming Resistance to Innovation, in Creating Wealth from Knowledge: Meeting the innovation challenge, J. Bessant & T. Venables (eds.), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
Conference Contributions – Refereed Morton, S. C., Burns, N. D., Dainty, A. R. J. and Brookes, N. J. (2006). “SIGN for better performance: Strategy to Improve Global Networking within and between organisations”. Proceedings of 17th Annual Conference of POMS, April 28 – May 1, 2006, Boston, USA, paper 004 – 0426, pp. 13. Morton, S. C., Burns, N. D., Dainty, A. R. J. (2007). “Beyond Lean: Overcoming Resistance to Innovation to Improve Productivity”. Proceedings of 18th Annual Conference of POMS, May 4 - 7, 2007, Dallas, USA, paper 007-0149. S. C. & R. Michaelides (2007). “Evaluating the Impact of Web 2.0 Technologies on Continuous Innovation Networks”. 8th International CINet Conference: Continuous Innovation – Opportunities and Challenges, September 7-11, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| Working/Work in Progress Papers - Brookes, N. J. and Morton, S. C. (submission 2007), Beyond Strength: Relational characteristics and knowledge exchange, target publication: Academy of Management Journal
- Michaelides, R. and Morton, S. C. (submission 2007/2008), Collaborative Technologies and Continuous Innovation Networks in Product Development, target publication: International Journal of Production Research
- Morton, S. C. and Burns, N. D. (submission 2007/2008), Moving Beyond Lean: Continuous improvement through adoption and adaptation, target publication: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture.
- Morton, S. C. and Michaelides, R. (submission 2008), Technological and Psychological Barriers and Enablers to Innovation, target publication: Technovation (International Journal of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology Management)
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