Introduction
In the modern world of business, innovation management turns out to be a significant process in terms of which organizational growth and competitiveness are possible. In 2010, Bhat conducted a study to investigate the peculiarities of managing innovation through the prism of continuity and change. The author began research by giving clear definitions to such concepts as “innovation” and “competitiveness” and introducing major continuity and change dimensions.
The processes touched upon such fields as technology, organization, learning, management, and networking (Bhat, 2010). As a result, ten dimensions that play an important role in innovation management were identified, and their inter-relations were explained as mutually dependent processes. In this paper, the discussion of the best continuity and change dimensions while innovation management will be developed in order to enhance organizational competitiveness and performance in today’s business and investigate alternatives for a company.
Literature Review
In this section of the paper, the review of the literature about innovation and its management in business organizations will be developed. The complex nature of innovation challenges many researchers, so they develop their own approaches and measurements in an organizational process. In this project, the role of continuity and change in innovation management will be analyzed through the prism of several credible studies to create a solid database for quantitative research.
Innovation Management in Modern Organizations
Modern organizations find the idea of becoming competitive and successful as one of the major priorities in their work. Innovation is one of the methods to achieve long-term competitiveness (Ćirić, Lalić, & Gračanin, 2016). In some sources, innovation is compared to creativity or management, but Viki (2017) suggested considering it as a combination of creative ideas and business models that gain profits. Innovation management is not a single process but a number of steps and dimensions united by the same goal.
Continuity and Change Dimensions
Firms are free to develop their processes in different ways with the only purpose to deal with continuity and change aspects. Bhat (2010) introduced five major dimensions, technology, organization, learning, managerial, and networking for both continuity and change. Technological progress determines the speed of innovation and its flexibility, and organizational patterns focus on employee involvement and tolerance. Learning continuity and change contain training, learning, and recovery abilities. Managerial dimensions enhance flexible strategies, commitment, and the environment. Networking issues recognize the importance of external and internal interactions and performance dynamics. In total, ten innovation management dimensions play a role in organizational success and high-level performance.
Inter-Relations among Continuity and Change Dimensions
Inter-relations between the dimensions in innovation management play an important role. Each of the ten dimensions identified by Bhat (2010) has positive and opposite impacts on each other, provoking new ideas to be developed, and new steps to be taken. The strength of innovation management is its relation to organizational performance, culture, and people’s attitudes (Zaabi, Singh, & Ajmal, 2017). External factors may influence organizational management, and continuity and change dimensions exist to control interactions and choose the best options for a company.
Vital Continuity and Change Dimensions
In the existing variety of innovation management dimensions, continuity, and change, it is hard to choose an option that has a stronger impact on performance compared to others. However, Bhat (2010) showed that organizational and learning dimensions might be recognized as vital because of the possibility to not only control internal and external sources but also promote a supportive organizational culture and leadership. These qualities may improve management and promote competitiveness at different levels.
Innovation Management Improvement
The role of continuity and change in managing innovation is defined by the scope of improvements that can be observed in an organization. Quality management, organizational culture, and performance are the major measurement aspects that cannot be ignored (Valmohammadi & Roshanzamir, 2015). There are many spheres where innovation can be applied and contribute to improvement, and the level of performance and employee satisfaction is one of the possible evaluation factors.
Approach
Objective
Continuity and change are the two integral factors in organizational development, and this paper aims to understand how these dimensions may influence innovation management and competitiveness of firms. Managers and other employees are free to choose different processes that challenge their companies, promote new inter-relationships, and make competitors demonstrate their best qualities. Sometimes, their choices depend on available resources or knowledge, and, in many cases, personal preferences and attitudes turn out to be more critical. The purpose of this project is to clarify the impact of continuity and change on employee satisfaction and quality as a part of improvements due to managing innovation.
Variables
Compared to Bhat who chose ten variables for analysis, this paper contains two independent variables and two dependent variables. On the one hand, the relationship between continuity and change in managing innovation is evident and cannot be ignored, but these dimensions may have a different impact on American organizations. Continuity and change are the two independent variables that will be applied to several firms in order to evaluate their impact on employee satisfaction and the quality of work through the prism of managing innovation. In this case, satisfaction and quality are the two dependent variables.
Methodology
In this quantitative study, a randomized controlled trial was used to investigate the connection between the chosen variables and describe the role of innovation and its management in organizational success or failure. As a rule, randomized controlled trials are applied to healthcare and nursing fields in order to test interventions and explore their impact on patients or medical workers (O’Cathain, 2018). In this research paper, the same quantitative method was conducted to check and compare the effectiveness of continuity and change dimensions on managing innovation in American organizations. There are many factors that can be used to promote this type of evaluation, and the decision to focus on satisfaction and quality levels was made.
Twenty employees from local firms were invited to participate in the experiment where two continuity dimensions (training and supportive culture) and two change dimensions (enhanced capabilities and creativity inculcation) were clearly explained and promoted. One group (10 employees of one organization) tried the effectiveness of continuity dimensions as a part of innovation management, and another group (10 employees of another organization) followed change dimensions. Before and after the intervention, employees had to answer ten questions in a questionnaire format to compare their satisfaction levels and performance quality.
Results and Discussion
Questionnaires obtained from 20 employees helped to quantify the level of satisfaction with continuity and change dimensions and identify their impact on the quality of work through managing innovation. There were ten close-ended questions with multiple-choice answers like “Satisfied”, “Neutral”, and “Dissatisfied” (five statements) or “Agree”, “Neutral”, and “Disagree” (five statements). When both companies were offered to improve their performance by means of training and developing the already gained skills and creativity through enhanced capabilities, both groups were eager to follow recommendations.
Learning and organizational continuity dimensions were characterized by increased productivity levels and the desire of employees to share their experiences in different activities. Learning and organizations change dimensions also brought positive results, but the resistance of some participants proved that more time and new efforts had to be mentioned. In other words, the connection between continuity and change dimensions was similar to the one identified by Bhat (2010). Still, the level of employee satisfaction remained higher in the continuity group.
The quality of performance, as well as companies’ competitiveness, was at high levels as well. Employees understood how to manage innovation and were ready to demonstrate their best qualities in order to achieve organizational goals and support the already established cultures. The role of leaders was also a contributing factor in managing innovation because both concepts, continuity, and change, had to be properly explained. Clear examples and the discussion of expectations played a crucial role to make sure that all employees comprehended their goals and duties. The relationship between continuity and change could not be ignored, as well as the participation of employees and employers.
Conclusion
In general, managing innovation in modern American companies through change and continuity processes is characterized by a number of positive benefits and successful outcomes. Enhanced competitive and high quality of the performance was observed in both cases. Although several employees still demonstrated some uncertainty and required additional time to accept changes, continuity was explained as an influential factor in innovation management. The results of this research paper can be utilized in other studies to understand how to increase the levels of employee satisfaction with change processes and combine them with continuity dimensions in the future.
References
Bhat, J. S. (2010). Managing innovation: Understanding how continuity and change are interlinked. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 11(1-2), 63-74.
Ćirić, D., Lalić, B., & Gračanin, D. (2016). Managing innovation: Are project management methods enemies or allies. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (IJIEM), 7, 31-41.
O’Cathain, A. (2018). A practical guide to using qualitative research with randomized controlled trials. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Valmohammadi, C., & Roshanzamir, S. (2015). The guidelines of improvement: Relations among organizational culture, TQM and performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 164, 167-178.
Viki, T. (2017). Innovation is management. Forbes. Web.
Zaabi, H. H. J. A., Singh, S. K., & Ajmal, M. M. (2017). Role of organisational commitment, culture and leadership in managing innovation: A study. International Journal of Value Chain Management, 8(3), 270-284.