Natalya Sergeeva

EMPLOYEES AND THE INNOVATIVE IDEA CONTRIBUTION PROCESS: CLARIFYING INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL CHARACTERISTICS

Understanding how contextual and individual characteristics affect employee willingness to propose innovative ideas to an organization is an important, if understudied aspect of the innovation process. Based on an interactional perspective, widely used in creativity and innovation studies, this paper examines the influence of both contextual and individual characteristics on employee willingness to contribute innovative ideas to other organizational actors. Using a quasi-experimental approach, it is reported that intrinsic motivation, knowledge and curiosity are more important motivators than individual position in the company and any potential financial rewards. Additionally, the personality dimensions of the Big-Five Inventory (BFI) show no significant affect on employee willingness to contribute ideas. The results of the study are contextualized with the literature regarding the idea contribution processes, and further research directions are indicated.

Understanding of labelling and sustaining of innovation in construction: a sensemaking perspective

Over the last few decades, innovation has been investigated in a variety of ways, reflecting upon different orientations and interests. However, the question of how organizational activities become recognized as innovations remains under-examined. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to understand and explain how narratives of innovation are mobilized by construction sector practitioners. In order to achieve the aim, 30 semi-structured interviews were carried out with UK construction sector practitioners who have engaged with the Constructing Excellence organization. A sensemaking perspective is adopted as a theoretical lens for explaining the interview data. The empirical findings suggest that organizational activities become labelled as innovations through the process of collective inter-subjectivity. Organizational activities become labelled as innovations retrospectively and make sense prospectively. As narratives of innovation can be repeated and recalled, storytelling lends to the process of sus...