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A long way home: How an intra-organizational innovation network overcomes its political boundaries

Author

Listed:
  • Rau, Christiane
  • Neyer, Anne-Katrin
  • Schipanski, Agnes
  • Schweitzer, Fiona

Abstract

This article focuses on the still understudied link among political boundaries and innovation practices and its inherent boundary-crossing mechanisms in intra-organizational innovation networks. Our single case study at the sports company adidas derives two particular combinations of boundaries and boundary-crossing mechanisms to overcome political boundaries in intra-organizational innovation networks. These are the ‘open-closed (minded) boundaries’ and ‘everybody-is-an-innovator boundaries’. They have been addressed with distinct innovation practices that comprise the boundary-crossing mechanisms ‘reframe interests’ and ‘negotiate interests’. We find that these boundary-crossing mechanisms to be crucial in the process of managing the intra-organizational innovation network. Our findings have implications for the organizational anchoring of innovation practices given its importance as enabler or barrier to overcome political boundaries in intra-organizational innovation networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Rau, Christiane & Neyer, Anne-Katrin & Schipanski, Agnes & Schweitzer, Fiona, 2016. "A long way home: How an intra-organizational innovation network overcomes its political boundaries," management revue. Socio-economic Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 27(3), pages 139-159.
  • Handle: RePEc:rai:mamere:mrev-2016-rau
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    political boundaries; intra-organizational innovation networks; innovation practices; knowledge exchange; innovation management; boundary management; organizational practices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General

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