G Schewe

Gatekeeper and process promotor: key persons in agile and innovative organizations

A characteristic of agile organizations is the development of innovative products and processes. It has been shown that a key factor of success in managing innovative projects is the existence of key persons. Empirical studies on innovation management show that key persons who are able to overcome existing innovation barriers play a decisive role for innovation success. The basic theoretical concepts behind these findings are the “gatekeeper concept” and the “promotor model”. The two concepts are compared under a static and a dynamic perspective. It will be shown that under a dynamic view, one can combine the gatekeeper concept and the promotor model to a powerful management concept for supporting agility in organizations.

A qualitative meta-analysis of trust in supervisor-subordinate relationships

Purpose – Interpersonal trust is often considered as the “glue” that binds supervisors together with their subordinates, and creates a positive organisational climate. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting subordinates’ trust to their supervisor, and the consequences of such a trusting relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a qualitative meta-analysis of the trust literature between 1995 and 2011, to identify 73 articles and review 37 theoretical propositions, 139 significant model parameters and 58 further empirical findings. Findings – Four distinct clusters of trust antecedents are found: supervisor attributes; subordinate attributes; interpersonal processes and organisational characteristics. Similarly, the authors identify three categories of trust consequences: subordinates’ work behaviour; subordinates’ attitude towards the supervisor; and organisational level effects. Research limitations/implications – The authors find a bias towards studying sup...

ENHANCING TRUST OR REDUCING PERCEIVED RISK, WHAT MATTERS MORE WHEN LAUNCHING A NEW PRODUCT? ¤

Using a collection of data among 490 participants from different companies in the field of medical engineering market, we contribute to the role of contact intensity by a business partner when launching new products by introducing trust as a mediator to the concept of perceived risk reduction to enhance the relationship commitment. The findings show that the common concept of risk reduction to enhance the relationship commitment is overrated. In detail, the results show first, that the influence of trust on the relationship commitment is decisive instead of reducing perceived risk by the customer. The contact intensity is only important to enhance trust which influences the relationship commitment in a positive way. Hence, managers should concentrate on the development of trust and not on the reduction of perceived risk of the customer. Second, our findings demonstrate that the attitude whether the customer is averse of affine towards innovations has no influence on the relationship between contact intensity and relationship commitment. This is obviously the opposite of the findings of most researchers in literature who usually state customers need different contacts of the seller to purchase a new product depending on their attitude towards innovations.

29 Innovationen für den Mittelstand – Ein prozessorientierter Leitfaden für KMU

Gegenstand des vor fast zehn Jahren veroffentlichten Buches „Innovationen fur den Mittelstand – Ein prozessorientierter Leitfaden fur KMU“ ist die Frage, wie mittelstandische Unternehmen ihr Innovationsmanagement starker professionalisieren konnen, indem sie sich unterschiedlichster Methoden bedienen, deren Umsetzung einer prozessorientierten Herangehensweise folgt. Das Buch greift zur Zeit seiner Erstveroffentlichung dabei eine Lucke auf, die insbesondere bei KMUs von nicht unerheblicher Bedeutung war, zum Teil heutzutage immer noch ist. Nicht selten kratzen gerade mittelstandische Unternehmen bei der systematischen Durchfuhrung innovativer Aufgaben nur an der Oberflache. Oftmals ist von einer „prozessorientierten Optimierung“ oder der „Schaffung einer innovativen Kultur“ die Rede. Doch diese Schlagworte haben mit der Realitat fur Mittelstandler wenig zu tun. Entsprechend versucht das Buch, diese Lucke systematisch zu analysieren, um so letztlich auch Losungsansatze prasentieren zu konnen.

Beurteilung des Kreditausfallrisikos im Firmenkundengeschàft der Banken

SummaryThe purpose of this paper is to compare three different instruments for predicting bankruptcy. In this study we develop a multivariate discrimination model, a logistic regression model, and a neuronal network model based on financial data from 232 various companies. A comparison of the Classification abilities of the three instruments is presented. The results show that all of them have a good misclassification error of less than 25%. The best model is the logistic regression model with an alphaerror of 10,3% and a betaerror of 20,7%.

A CLIMATE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY ENHANCES THE SUCCESS OF FRONT END TEAMS

This paper contributes to the discussion about initiative in teams at the front end of new product development processes (innovative teams). In contrast to the general opinion presented in the literature, this study points out that unstructured innovative teams are as much initiative in developing new ideas or in finding quick solutions when compared to structured innovative teams. Therefore we analyse the relationship between teamwork quality and team initiative in structured and unstructured teams at the front end of a new product development process and, in particular, we focus on a climate of psychological safety. To examine this relationship, data were collected by surveying 100 team members from different departments in a multinational company. It has been pointed out in the literature previously that where a team leader provides little structure at the micro level for team members there is a negative effect on the displays of initiative in the very early stages of the innovation process. However we can demonstrate that this effect can be reduced by a climate of psychological safety. Thus, it can be stated that unstructured teamwork combined with a climate of psychological safety is the way for teams at the front end of a new product development process to be successful.

Der Sailing‐Ship‐Effect in der Automobilwirtschaft

In der Berichterstattung uber die Entwicklungen hin zu alternativen Antrieben fur den automobilen Individualverkehr lasst sich seit Jahren ein wiederkehrendes Muster identifizieren. Nach dem konkreten Einfuhrungstermin und der marktweiten Verbreitung dieser Alternativen gefragt, ausern sich die relevanten Automobilkonzerne stets dahingehend, dass Zeitraume zwischen drei und funf Jahren genannt werden, in denen die jeweiligen Alternativen tatsachlich einen signifikanten und uber reines Prototyping oder Sonderanwendungen hinausgehende Markstellung haben werden [2].

The impact of competing powertrain technologies on the formation of automotive innovation networks

The automotive sector faces a fundamental transformation due to technological change regarding low-emission vehicles. The simultaneous development of different alternative powertrain systems is a complex and expensive challenge for the whole industry. As the high risks and costs can be shared and complementary core competencies can be combined, innovation networks, representing a specific form of inter-organizational coordination, increase in importance. Based on network theory, we examine the institutional relationship of car manufacturers and suppliers to gain a better understanding of joint strategies. Our study contributes to the scientific discussion on patent analysis by developing an elaborate combination of patent classes and keywords. In this way, we create a highly valid dataset of over 71,000 patents consisting of four different powertrain technologies: internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. We analyze the collaboration of different firms by extracting those patents that show a joint assignment of two or more assignees, leading to a total of 2,025 bi-lateral connections. This approach enables us to measure the spread of innovation networks over time and to reveal insights on the direction of partnerships and the role of certain actors within the network. Complemented by practice-oriented examples, our findings contribute to the understanding of automotive networks with respect to the ongoing and yet to be decided competition of powertrain technologies.

New Ways of Working: Chances and Challenges for Trust-Enhancing Leadership

The continued rise of digitalization allows employees to be highly flexible regarding when and where to work, both inside and outside the traditional office, a trend captured in the term new ways of working (NWW). With NWW, increased employee flexibility changes the relationship between supervisor and employees, thereby posing both benefits and new challenges for leadership. For supervisors, NWW particularly complicate the nevertheless necessary task of exercising control over employees. In NWW supervisors often rely on electronic performance monitoring techniques as an alternative to traditional forms of supervisory control. Yet, since employees often perceive electronic monitoring as a signal of their supervisors’ distrust, these new monitoring systems can harm the employee–supervisor relationship. At the same time, by accepting the control and monitoring behavior of their supervisors, employees can form high-quality relationships with supervisors, which can in turn translate into greater productivity and mutual trust. By more closely tracing this process, the present chapter investigates how supervisors in NWW can effectively supervise employees by maintaining control while still expressing trust.

How differences in perceptions of own and team performance impact trust and job satisfaction in virtual teams

ABSTRACT Employees frequently engage in social comparison processes and tend to perceive their own performance as superior compared to that of their peers. We expect this to be particularly salient in virtual teams where employees receive few cues upon which the comparison with other members of their team can be based. With reliance on social comparison and social exchange theory, we propose that such “perceived overperformance” has negative effects on job satisfaction, which is mediated by trust in the team. We confirm this with a sample of field-service employees (n = 753) using structural equation modeling with bootstrapping. We corroborated our findings in focus groups, which suggest the need for performance indicators that are easily communicated to and comprehended by employees to maintain trust and satisfaction.