Introductory description

This module aims to develop a greater understanding of how to foster an innovative work environment.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Overview of why innovation is more important than ever – the idea economy.
The process of leading for innovation. Characteristics and activities of a successful leader of innovation.
Creative problem solvers.
Crowdsourcing and innovation.
The role of knowledge management and innovation.
Examples of successful innovative efforts.
Building an innovative team. Leading for innovation across industries.
Development of creative leaders.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate the capability to understand theoretical perspectives and issues related to practical applications of these. Understand the characteristics related to effectively leading for innovation. Understand the processes that lead to effective creative leadership. Demonstrate an improved understanding of what makes a successful innovative firm prosper.
• Understand the processes that lead to effective creative leadership.
• Demonstrate an improved understanding of what makes a successful innovative firm prosper.
• Be able to develop clearly written arguments drawing upon primary and secondary data analyses and the academic literature.
• Be able critically to evaluate concepts, frameworks, models and theories pertinent to creativity and leading for innovation.
• Be able to independently conduct research on a leader of innovation and analyse what makes him or her successful as explained by theory. Be able to reflect on his or her own capacity as a leader of innovation.
• Be able to persuasively present findings from analyses and clearly present and defend well-reasoned recommendations.
• Be able to reflect on his or her own capacity as a leader of innovation.
• Understand the characteristics related to effectively leading for innovation.

Indicative reading list

Adams, R., Bessant, J., & Phelps, R. (2006). Innovation management measurement: A review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 8(1), 21-47. Verhaeghe, A., & Kfir, R. (2002). Managing innovation in a knowledge intensive technology organisation (KITO). R&D Management, 32(5), 409-417. Amabile,T., Khaire,M. (2008), Creativity and the Role of the Leader: Harvard Business Review . Basadur, M. (2004). Leading others to think innovatively together: Creative leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 103-121 Amabile, TM Pratt MG - 2016 The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress, making meaning. Research in Organizational Behavior, (Comprehensive, up to date, but tediously long and overcomplicated). Denti, L., & Hemlin, S. (2013) What Connects Leadership and Creativity? In Hemlin, S Allwood, C. M.,Martin,B.R., and Mumford, M. D.,(Eds.Creativity and Leadership in Science,Technology, and Innovation, p58-80. Mumford, M. D., Hunter, S. T., Eubanks, D. L., Bedell, K. E. & Murphy, S. T. (2007). Developing leaders for creative efforts: A domain-based approach to leadership development. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 402-417. Mumford, M. D., Scott, G. M., & Strange, J. M. (2002). Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 705-750. Afuah, A., & Tucci, C. (2012). Crowdsourcing as a solution to distant search. Academy of Management Review, 37, 335-375. Brabham, D. C. (2008). Crowdsourcing as a model for problem solving. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 14, 75-90. Leimeister, J. M., Huber, M., Bretschneider, U., & Krcmar, H. (2009). Leveraging crowdsourcing: Activation-supporting components for IT-based ideas competition. Journal of Management Information Systems, 26, 197-224 Ethan Mollick, The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study, (2014) Journal of Business Venturing, 29(2014), 1-16. Gordon Burtch, Anindya Ghose, Sunil Wattal (2015) The Hidden Cost of Accommodating Crowdfunder Privacy Preferences: A Randomized Field Experiment. Management Science 61(5):949-962. Gordon Burtch, Anindya Ghose, Sunil Wattal (2013) An Empirical Examination of the Antecedents and Consequences of Contribution Patterns in Crowd-Funded Markets. Information Systems Research 24(3):499-519 Puccio, G. L., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. C. (2011). Creative Leadership: Skills that Drive Change. 2nd Edition. Sage: Thousand Oaks, California. Sternberg, R. J. (1999). The Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Zhou, J., & Shalley, C. E. (2008). Handbook of Organizational Creativity. Taylor & Francis Group, LLC: New York, NY. Sample academic articles: Amabile, T. M. (1998). How to Kill Creativity. Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 77-87. Amabile, T. M., Schatzel, E. A., Moneta, G. B., & Kramer, S. J. (2004). Leader behaviors and the work environment for creativity: Perceived leader support. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(1) 5-32. Friedrich, T. L; Mumford, M. D.; Vessey, B.; Beeler, C. K; Eubanks, D. L. (2010). Leading for innovation: reevaluating leader influences on innovation with regard to innovation type and complexity. International studies of management and organization40. (2) 6-29. Kurtzberg, T. R., & Amabile, T. M. (2001). From Guilford to creative synergy: Opening the black box of team-level creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 13(3-4) 285-294. Shalley, C. E., & Gilson, L. 2004). What leaders need to know: A review of social and contextual factors that can foster or hinder creativity. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(1) 33-53. Shalley, C. E., Zhou, J., & Oldham, G. R. (2004). The effects of personal and contextual characteristics on creativity: Where should we go from here? Journal of Management, 30(6) 933-958. Tierney, P., Farmer, S. M., & Graen, G. B. (1999). An examination of leadership and employee creativity: The relevance of traits and relationships. Personnel Psychology, 52(3) 591-620.

Subject specific skills

Understand the role of the leader in the innovative process.

Transferable skills

Be able to demonstrate developed written and verbal communication skills.
Be able to demonstrate effective problem solving skills.
Be able to work within a team to analyse issues and propose solutions.