The Role of Organizational Vision in Guiding Idea Generation within SME Contexts

Mobilizing Megaproject Narratives for External Stakeholders: A Study of Narrative Instruments and Processes

Megaprojects combine multiple external stakeholders, and a common narrative is essential to drive the project among often conflicting objectives. Narratives help organize people toward an agenda and therefore have performative and strategic implications. In this research, we explore how narratives are mobilized through narrative instruments and processes using the case study of the High Speed Two (HS2) megaproject in the United Kingdom. We record the use of three instruments—stories, labels, and comparisons—that undergo four processes: repeating, endorsing, humorizing, and actioning. These instruments and processes enable megaprojects to mobilize a narrative that helps in managing external stakeholders.

From LMX to Individual Creativity: Interactive Effect of Engagement and Job Complexity

This study explores how the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX) is associated with employees' creativity via engagement, and the moderating role of a job characteristic related to knowledge (job complexity) in this relationship. A moderated mediation model was tested on a sample of 320 employees from emergent high-tech and knowledge-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Spain. The results supported an indirect influence of LMX on individual creativity through engagement. Additionally, this study found that job complexity accentuated the impact of engagement on creativity. More importantly, the findings confirmed that the intensity of the LMX-engagement-creativity relationship was moderated by job complexity. That is, the relationship was stronger when job complexity was high. Taken together, this study improves the understanding of the factors that contribute to increased employee creativity, an important outcome for high-tech and knowledge-based SMEs.

DECONSTRUCTING LAWSON AND SAMSON’S CONCEPT OF INNOVATION CAPABILITY: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT AND A REFINEMENT

For almost 20 years, research on firm level innovation have relied upon [Lawson and Samson (2001). Developing innovation capability in organisations: A dynamic capabilities approach. International Journal of Innovation Management, 5(3), 377–400] concept of innovation capability (IC). Of note, these authors stated that this concept needs to be ‘refined, validated and tested using other research methods’ [Lawson and Samson (2001). Developing innovation capability in organisations: A dynamic capabilities approach. International Journal of Innovation Management, 5(3), 377–400], p. 396. To date, empirical studies heeding this call have been challenging to find. By researchers relying on this untested concept, they risk not attaining comprehensive insights into the firm level mechanisms underpinning the transformation idea and knowledge into innovations. This paper proposes a rethinking of the IC concept. The analysis is based on survey data of 69 firms involved in the Australian maritime industry using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results suggest that the IC concept might be refined from seven dimensions, initially conceptualised, to three dimensions. The three dimensions are renamed as institutionalising innovation, implementing innovation and stimulating innovation.