Introductory description

The development and spread of IT-based innovations demands new theoretical and practical approaches to the challenges of integrating technological and organizational change. Research shows that the spread and implementation of IT based innovations in business processes (within and between organisations) and through enterprise-wide and cross-enterprise systems integration are dependent on supporting processes of
institutional and organizational change. Understanding these challenges therefore involves drawing on a range of theoretical contributions drawn from the social science of innovation which highlight the interplay between organizational processes and their social contexts. In particular, a focus on the creation and distribution of knowledge provides an integrating framework for these contributions.

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.

The development and spread of IT-based innovations – from enterprise systems to emerging, highly distributed organizational forms – demands new theoretical and practical approaches to the challenges of integrating technological and organizational change. Understanding these challenges therefore involves drawing on a range of theoretical contributions drawn from the social science of innovation, which highlight the interplay between processes of change and their social contexts. In this module, a focus on the creation and distribution of knowledge provides an integrating framework for these contributions.
The module will allow students to apply a plurality of theoretical frameworks to concrete examples of IT-based innovation in product, process and service arenas. It will feature examples of research conducted by the IKON research centre at WBS as well as by scholars of the highest international standing. Through participatory exercises, case-studies and group activities, students will be able to develop a better understanding of the social and technological dynamics of the innovation process and skills for effective management practice, and successful business outcomes.
Major topic areas include: "The role of IS in the knowledge-based organization", “Managing knowledge in organizations”, “Spanning knowledge boundaries in innovation processes”, “Managing in the project-based organization”, “Networked innovation”.

Learning outcomes

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

• How organizational structure influences firm level innovation.
• How knowledge can be managed for innovation and what barriers there are to this.
• How innovation unfolds as an iterative process rather than along a linear pathway.
• How networks and networking (within and across organizations) influence innovation processes.
• Critical thinking.
• Understanding the usefulness of various theoretical models in developing IT-enabled organizational forms.
• Ability to competently engage with the innovation and knowledge management literature.

Indicative reading list

Course text:
S. Newell, M. Robertson, H. Scarbrough and J. Swan, Managing Knowledge Work and Innovation, London: Palgrave, 2009.
Relevant journal papers:
Afuah, A. and C. L. Tucci (2012). "Crowdsourcing As A Solution To Distant Search." Academy of Management Review 37(3): 355-375.
Boland, R. J. and Tenkasi, R. V. (1995) 'Perspective Making and Perspective Taking in Communities of Knowing', Organization Science, 6, 350-363.
Brown, J. S. and P. Duguid (2000). "Balancing act: How to capture knowledge without killing it." Harvard Business Review 78(3).
Carlile, P. R. (2004). "Transferring, translating, and transforming: An integrative framework for managing knowledge across boundaries." Organization Science 15(5): 555-568.
Chesbrough, H. W. (2003) 'The Era of Open Innovation', MIT Sloan Management Review, 44, 35.
Kellogg, K. C., Orlikowski, W. J., & Yates, J. A. (2006). Life in the trading zone: Structuring coordination across boundaries in postbureaucratic organizations. Organization Science, 17(1), 22-44.
Levina, N. (2005). "Collaborating on multiparty information systems development projects: A collective reflection-in-action view." Information Systems Research 16(2): 109-130.
Majchrzak, A., Cooper, L. P. and Neece, O. E. (2004) 'Knowledge Reuse for Innovation', Management Science, 50, 174-188.
Orlikowski, W. J. (1992) 'The duality of technology: Rethinking the concept of technology in organizations', Organization Science, 3, 398-427.
Scarbrough, H., et al. (2004). "Project-based learning and the role of learning boundaries." Organization Studies 25(9): 1579-1600.
Scarbrough, H., Panourgias, N. and Nandhakumar, J. 2014. "Developing a relational view of the organizing role of objects: A study of the innovation process in computer games" Organization Studies, forthcoming.
Swan, J. and Scarbrough, H. (2005), 'The politics of networked innovation', Human Relations, 58, 7, 913-943.
Swanson, E. B. and Ramiller, N. C. (2004) 'Innovating mindfully with information technology', MIS Quarterly, 28, 553-583.
Tsoukas, H. and E. Vladimirou (2001). "What is organizational knowledge?" Journal of Management Studies 38(7): 973-993.
von Hippel, E. (1994) '"Sticky Information" and the Locus of Problem Solving: Implications for Innovation', Management Science, 40, 429-439.

Subject specific skills

Demonstrate enhanced expertise in the application of IT capabilities and systems to the development of innovation within business settings.

Transferable skills

Analyse the process and outcomes of IT-based innovation processes through a greater appreciation of their social and organizational context.
Demonstrate improved decision-making skills in the evaluation of the likely outcomes, costs and benefits of IT-based innovations.