Ben Dankbaar

From Complex Organizations with Simple Jobs to Simple Organizations with Complex Jobs

Organization redesign has become widely accepted as a regular task for management, recently invigorated by the interest in Business Process Reengineering. In spite of that, it is still a neglected area in organization science. This paper emphasizes the importance of design theory and design-oriented research. The potential role of design theory is exemplified by the description of Integral Organizational Renewal (I0R), a design theory grounded in practical experience in the Netherlands. This approach can be viewed as a Dutch variant of Sociotechnical Systems Design. The essence of this approach lies in the transformation of complex organizations offering simple jobs into simple organizations offering complex jobs. IOR can both be regarded as an expert approach and as a route for self-design. The approach enables the members of the organization to develop and use their own design expertise. IOR is therefore not only a strategy for organization design, but for organization development as well. The paper points to opportunities to make organization research more relevant to organization practice.Organization redesign has become widely acceptedas a regular task for management, recently invigoratedby the interest in Business Process Reengineering. Inspite of that, it is still a neglected area in organization science. This paper emphasizesthe importance of design theory and design-orientedresearch. The potential role of design theory isexemplified by the description of IntegralOrganizational Renewal (IOR), a design theory grounded inpractical experience in the Netherlands. This approachcan be viewed as a Dutch variant of SociotechnicalSystems Design. The essence of this approach lies in the transformation of complex organizationsoffering simple jobs into simple organizations offeringcomplex jobs. IOR can both be regarded as an expertapproach and as a route for self-design. The approach enables the members of the organization todevelop and use their own design expertise. IOR istherefore not only a strategy for organization design,but for organization development as well. The paperpoints to opportunities to make organization researchmore relevant to organization practice.

Lean Production: Denial, Confirmation or Extension of Sociotechnical Systems Design?

This paper makes a comparison between the basic elements of lean production and sociotechnical systems design (STSD) and compares them both with the characteristics of the traditional Fordist system of mass production. It argues that lean production can hardly be considered as an alternative to mass production, as its proponents suggest, but is on the contrary extending the life of mass production methods. However, lean production does appear to contain some building blocks for the innovative production systems that are expected to prevail in the 21st century. STSD, which has always presented itself as an alternative and possible successor to Fordist methods, will need to link its traditional concerns for quality of work and flexibility of work organizations with the new issues of continuous improvement, learning, and innovation.

Global Sourcing and Innovation: The Consequences of Losing both Organizational and Geographical Proximity

Abstract The main message of the proponents of strategic outsourcing is that it pays off to concentrate on the activities that you are good at. The result of specialization along the value chain will be a product that will be more competitive in terms of price, quality, and innovation. Globalization has many dimensions, but here we mainly want to consider the movement of manufacturing activities to low wage locations. In this paper we will investigate the implications of global sourcing for the innovative capacity of the outsourcing company. We will argue that these implications will be more pronounced in the case of global sourcing, because in that case the loss of organizational proximity that is inherent in outsourcing is compounded by the increase in geographical distance. The findings presented in this paper are the results from an ongoing research project on the relationships between research, development, and manufacturing against the background of increased global outsourcing of manufacturing. These observations give rise to a whole series of questions. Is there any reason to assume that research can be maintained as an in-house activity in the long run, if development and manufacturing have been outsourced? In other words: we are interested in the conditions for long-term viability of companies outsourcing most or all of their manufacturing, especially if such outsourcing is directed to low wage locations at a large distance from the research laboratories.

Creativity in Multidisciplinary New Product Development Teams

New product development is usually teamwork. Product development teams are created that are cross-functional, representing different functional units, or multidisciplinary, involving several disciplines, or both. In any case, conceiving and developing new products is a joint effort, which means that the traditional view of creativity may not apply. This view, characterized by a focus on individuals as agents of creativity and by the assumption that creativity is a unilateral quality, not a reciprocal or interactive phenomenon, continues to be influential. As a result, much of the dynamics of ‘newness-generation’ and ‘newness-reception’ in organizations remains to be studied. This paper describes the organization of new product development in a number of medium-sized companies. It will discuss the theoretical issues of newness generation in multidisciplinary new product development teams and newness reception in the larger organization, and present the results of a series of exploratory interviews.

Proactive involvement of consumers in innovation: selecting appropriate techniques.

AbstractThe following sections are included:IntroductionRadical Product InnovationThree types of radicalnessThe development processDifferentiating and Selecting TechniquesEarlier effortsDifferentiating CharacteristicsRequirements for consumer involvement in different situationsAppropriateness of 20 techniquesCase StudiesMethodologyFindingsTechnologically really new product innovationsTrend-break really new product innovationsBreakthrough product innovationsReactive research in the commercialisation phaseSelection of consumersDiscussionTechnologically really new product innovationsTrend-break really new product innovationsBreakthrough product innovationsConclusionAcknowledgementsAppendixReferences

An Inside Look: Rich Communication Through Lean Media in a Virtual Research Team

This study describes the formation of a dispersed team and the communication processes to evolve in this team. The authors examine how the members of such a team actually used e-mail for communication instead of starting from assumptions concerning the richness or leanness of the communication medium being used. Aspects of group formation and group composition are considered, and team member behaviors in an occasional face-to-face meeting are described. Observing how communication actually unfolds will allows the authors to review media richness theory’s claim that teams need face-to-face communication or another allegedly rich communication medium for effective communication about complex problems or equivocal tasks. The team to be described is a international group of researchers who joined a mailing list dedicated to preparing a research proposal that was to be funded by the EU.

Technology networking in border regions: Case study of the Euregion Maas‐Rhine

Abstract This paper describes the results of a study investigating cross‐border networking by enterprises in the border region where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet, the so‐called Euregion Maas‐Rhine. The study was undertaken in view of the completion of the Single European Market in 1993, which was expected to induce enterprises to make more effective use of available opportunities to improve their innovative and hence competitive potential. Special attention was given to knowledge transfer and sourcing of technology across borders. It was found that the majority of enterprises are still oriented towards a purely national environment. Technology‐intensive enterprises that are engaged in cross‐border networking, however, seem to be doing better than the ones that maintain a national orientation.

Creating a climate for inter-organizational networking through people management

The innovation output and competitiveness of firms increasingly rely on the ability to build and use inter-organizational networks. Previous studies on stimulating inter-organizational networking have largely ignored a critical factor: people management. Therefore, there is a need to identify people management practices that create a climate for inter-organizational networking. In this paper, we first analyze the literature for factors that affect networking behavior. Then, we proceed to identify the key people management practices we expect will affect these factors and will, thus, positively influence employee networking behavior. According to theory and research, the most effective people management practices for creating a climate conducive to inter-organizational networking are: (1) recruitment and selection; (2) training and development; (3) rewards and recognition; (4) supervisory support; (5) rules regarding knowledge disclosure; (6) time pressure; and (7) collaborative programs and projects. A system of mutually reinforcing people management practices will be more effective than the sum of single practices. Therefore, managers should adopt a coherent and consistent system of people management for inter-organizational networking.

Knowledge and Proximity

Over the years knowledge has come to be seen as crucial for economic progress, and proximity as conducive to knowledge exchange. As a result, knowledge-related processes are often considered as possible explanation of the spatial agglomeration of economic activities. However, knowledge and proximity are general concepts that have to be detailed before it is possible to specify the concrete mechanisms at work. Building on recent work that focuses on proximity, this paper develops a perspective in which proximity features as an enabling element, but no more than that, in ongoing processes of knowledge creation, transfer, absorption, and change. We argue that knowledge is to be viewed as activity and process, rather than object or commodity. Concentrating on “knowledge agents”—those engaged in knowledge-related processes, individuals and collectives—will be more productive than persisting to rely on the distinction between tacit and codified knowledge to explain spatial aspects of the economy. Finally, we argue that regions are different when it comes to the extent, and the way, they facilitate creation, transfer, and other knowledge processes. Contributions to local or regional economic development, whether through research or policy, have to take existing repertoires—patterns in collective knowledge—into account.

A Virtuous Circle? Co-evolution of Regional and Corporate Cultures

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the interaction between corporate cultures and regional cultures in seven different regions. First, we develop the hypothesis that under certain conditions, the interaction between corporate cultures and regional cultures becomes a virtuous circle, in which corporate performance and regional performance reinforce each other. Based on the literature on corporate and regional (innovation) cultures, nine different fields are identified in which the interaction between corporate culture and regional culture takes place and potentially contributes to the “virtuous circle”. The interaction of regional and corporate actors in the seven regions is then analysed for each of these fields of potential tension and synergy, resulting in a comparative overview of the regions, detailing where virtuous circles appear to be present and where the interaction appears to be absent or even counterproductive. Subsequently, the analysis zooms in on the cases where interaction between corporate and regional actors resulted in virtuous consequences, in order to identify actions of companies and regional actors that contributed to the “virtuous circle”. It is concluded that successful regions are regions that are handling the potential tensions in a balanced way. This requires mutual orientation in the actions of companies and regional actors and the development of change competencies on both sides. The results underline that the circle of interaction between corporate and regional cultures must be an open circle, so that external events can be used as an opportunity to trigger change and to set the “virtuous circle” in motion.