IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v23y2012i5p1398-1408.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World

Author

Listed:
  • Youngjin Yoo

    (Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122)

  • Richard J. Boland

    (Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106)

  • Kalle Lyytinen

    (Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106)

  • Ann Majchrzak

    (Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089)

Abstract

Our era is one of increasingly pervasive digital technologies, which penetrate deeply into the very core of the products, services, and operations of many organizations and radically change the nature of product and service innovations. The fundamental properties of digital technology are reprogrammability and data homogenization. Together, they provide an environment of open and flexible affordances that are used in creating innovations characterized by convergence and generativity . An analysis of convergence and generativity observed in innovations with pervasive digital technologies reveals three traits: (1) the importance of digital technology platforms, (2) the emergence of distributed innovations, and (3) the prevalence of combinatorial innovation. Each of the six articles in this special issue relates to one or more of these three traits. In this essay, we explore the organizational research implications of these three digital innovation traits and identify research opportunities for organization science scholars. Examples from the articles in this special issue on organizing for innovation in the digitized world are used to demonstrate the kind of organizational scholarship that can faithfully reflect and inform innovation in a world of pervasive digital technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen & Ann Majchrzak, 2012. "Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1398-1408, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:5:p:1398-1408
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1120.0771
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0771
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1120.0771?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martha L. Maznevski & Katherine M. Chudoba, 2000. "Bridging Space Over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(5), pages 473-492, October.
    2. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    3. Samer Faraj & Yan Xiao, 2006. "Coordination in Fast-Response Organizations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(8), pages 1155-1169, August.
    4. Amrit Tiwana & Benn Konsynski & Ashley A. Bush, 2010. "Research Commentary ---Platform Evolution: Coevolution of Platform Architecture, Governance, and Environmental Dynamics," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 675-687, December.
    5. Anil K. Gupta & Paul E. Tesluk & M. Susan Taylor, 2007. "Innovation At and Across Multiple Levels of Analysis," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 885-897, December.
    6. Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen & Youngjin Yoo, 2007. "Wakes of Innovation in Project Networks: The Case of Digital 3-D Representations in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 631-647, August.
    7. Edwin Mansfield & John Rapoport & Anthony Romeo & Samuel Wagner & George Beardsley, 1977. "Social and Private Rates of Return from Industrial Innovations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 91(2), pages 221-240.
    8. Robert D. Austin & Lee Devin & Erin E. Sullivan, 2012. "Accidental Innovation: Supporting Valuable Unpredictability in the Creative Process," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1505-1522, October.
    9. Kevin Boudreau, 2010. "Open Platform Strategies and Innovation: Granting Access vs. Devolving Control," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(10), pages 1849-1872, October.
    10. Brian T. Pentland & Martha S. Feldman, 2007. "Narrative Networks: Patterns of Technology and Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(5), pages 781-795, October.
    11. David, Paul A, 1985. "Clio and the Economics of QWERTY," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 332-337, May.
    12. Kevin J. Boudreau & Nicola Lacetera & Karim R. Lakhani, 2011. "Incentives and Problem Uncertainty in Innovation Contests: An Empirical Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(5), pages 843-863, May.
    13. Sarah Kaplan & Rebecca Henderson, 2005. "Inertia and Incentives: Bridging Organizational Economics and Organizational Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 509-521, October.
    14. Claudia U. Ciborra, 1996. "The Platform Organization: Recombining Strategies, Structures, and Surprises," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(2), pages 103-118, April.
    15. Jaegul Lee & Nicholas Berente, 2012. "Digital Innovation and the Division of Innovative Labor: Digital Controls in the Automotive Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1428-1447, October.
    16. Wendy K. Smith & Michael L. Tushman, 2005. "Managing Strategic Contradictions: A Top Management Model for Managing Innovation Streams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 522-536, October.
    17. Paul R. Carlile, 2002. "A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 442-455, August.
    18. Ho, Jason Y.C. & Dempsey, Melanie, 2010. "Viral marketing: Motivations to forward online content," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 1000-1006, September.
    19. E. Glen Weyl, 2010. "A Price Theory of Multi-sided Platforms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1642-1672, September.
    20. Constantine Andriopoulos & Marianne W. Lewis, 2009. "Exploitation-Exploration Tensions and Organizational Ambidexterity: Managing Paradoxes of Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 696-717, August.
    21. Diane E. Bailey & Paul M. Leonardi & Stephen R. Barley, 2012. "The Lure of the Virtual," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1485-1504, October.
    22. Deborah Dougherty & Danielle D. Dunne, 2012. "Digital Science and Knowledge Boundaries in Complex Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1467-1484, October.
    23. Samer Faraj & Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Ann Majchrzak, 2011. "Knowledge Collaboration in Online Communities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1224-1239, October.
    24. Dong-Jae Kim & Bruce Kogut, 1996. "Technological Platforms and Diversification," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(3), pages 283-301, June.
    25. Pierpaolo Andriani & Bill McKelvey, 2009. "Perspective ---From Gaussian to Paretian Thinking: Causes and Implications of Power Laws in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(6), pages 1053-1071, December.
    26. Erik Brynjolfsson & Yu (Jeffrey) Hu & Michael D. Smith, 2010. "Research Commentary --- Long Tails vs. Superstars: The Effect of Information Technology on Product Variety and Sales Concentration Patterns," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 736-747, December.
    27. Michael Barrett & Eivor Oborn & Wanda J. Orlikowski & JoAnne Yates, 2012. "Reconfiguring Boundary Relations: Robotic Innovations in Pharmacy Work," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1448-1466, October.
    28. Raymond F. Zammuto & Terri L. Griffith & Ann Majchrzak & Deborah J. Dougherty & Samer Faraj, 2007. "Information Technology and the Changing Fabric of Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(5), pages 749-762, October.
    29. David P. Brandon & Andrea B. Hollingshead, 2004. "Transactive Memory Systems in Organizations: Matching Tasks, Expertise, and People," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(6), pages 633-644, December.
    30. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Thomas R. Shaw & D. Sandy Staples, 2004. "Toward Contextualized Theories of Trust: The Role of Trust in Global Virtual Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 250-267, September.
    31. Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen, 2006. "From Organization Design to Organization Designing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(2), pages 215-229, April.
    32. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Ann Majchrzak, 2010. "Research Commentary ---Vigilant Interaction in Knowledge Collaboration: Challenges of Online User Participation Under Ambivalence," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 773-784, December.
    33. Russell L. Purvis & V. Sambamurthy & Robert W. Zmud, 2001. "The Assimilation of Knowledge Platforms in Organizations: An Empirical Investigation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 117-135, April.
    34. Rebecca Henderson & Sarah Kaplan, 2005. "Inertia and Incentives: Bridging Organizational Economics and Organizational Theory," NBER Working Papers 11849, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    35. Youngjin Yoo & Ola Henfridsson & Kalle Lyytinen, 2010. "Research Commentary ---The New Organizing Logic of Digital Innovation: An Agenda for Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 724-735, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Becker, Markus C. & Rullani, Francesco & Zirpoli, Francesco, 2021. "The role of digital artefacts in early stages of distributed innovation processes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(10).
    2. Cheng, Cong & Wang, Limin, 2022. "How companies configure digital innovation attributes for business model innovation? A configurational view," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Alaimo, Cristina & Kallinikos, Jannis, 2022. "Organizations decentered: data objects, technology and knowledge," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112470, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Satish Nambisan, 2017. "Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 1029-1055, November.
    5. Panos Constantinides & Ola Henfridsson & Geoffrey G. Parker, 2018. "Introduction—Platforms and Infrastructures in the Digital Age," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 381-400, June.
    6. Ebru Dilan & Mehmet N. Aydin, 2019. "An Integrated Framework for Examining Innovation Alignment in Organizations," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(04), pages 1-28, June.
    7. Aljona Zorina & William H. Dutton, 2021. "Theorizing Actor Interactions Shaping Innovation in Digital Infrastructures: The Case of Residential Internet Development in Belarus," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 156-180, January.
    8. Knut H. Rolland & Lars Mathiassen & Arun Rai, 2018. "Managing Digital Platforms in User Organizations: The Interactions Between Digital Options and Digital Debt," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 419-443, June.
    9. Kevin J. Boudreau, 2012. "Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom? An Early Look at Large Numbers of Software App Developers and Patterns of Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1409-1427, October.
    10. Diane Bailey & Samer Faraj & Pamela Hinds & Georg von Krogh & Paul Leonardi, 2019. "Special Issue of Organization Science: Emerging Technologies and Organizing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 642-646, May.
    11. Shaheer, Noman Ahmed & Li, Sali, 2020. "The CAGE around cyberspace? How digital innovations internationalize in a virtual world," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(1).
    12. Ola Henfridsson & Youngjin Yoo, 2014. "The Liminality of Trajectory Shifts in Institutional Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 932-950, June.
    13. Jonathan Wareham & Paul B. Fox & Josep Lluís Cano Giner, 2014. "Technology Ecosystem Governance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 1195-1215, August.
    14. Mina Nasiri & Minna Saunila & Juhani Ukko & Tero Rantala & Hannu Rantanen, 2023. "Shaping Digital Innovation Via Digital-related Capabilities," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1063-1080, June.
    15. Klein, Amarolinda & Sørensen, Carsten & Freitas, Angilberto Sabino de & Pedron, Cristiane Drebes & Elaluf-Calderwood, Silvia, 2020. "Understanding controversies in digital platform innovation processes: The Google Glass case," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    16. Yasser Alizadeh & Antonie J. Jetter, 2019. "Pathways for Balancing Exploration and Exploitation in Innovations: A Review and Expansion of Ambidexterity Theory," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(05), pages 1-33, August.
    17. Fabian Schueler & Dimitri Petrik, 2022. "Objectives of platform research: A co-citation and systematic literature review analysis," Papers 2202.08822, arXiv.org.
    18. Jens Foerderer, 2020. "Interfirm Exchange and Innovation in Platform Ecosystems: Evidence from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4772-4787, October.
    19. Chen, Xiaoying & Cui, Miao, 2022. "Understanding platform transformation from internal to external: A resource orchestration perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    20. Anne-Laure Fayard & Anca Metiu, 2014. "The Role of Writing in Distributed Collaboration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1391-1413, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:5:p:1398-1408. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.