Ralf Lanwehr

The Risks of Autonomy: Empirical Evidence for the Necessity of a Balance Management in Promoting Organizational Innovativeness

For the purpose of promoting innovativeness in organizations, the literature recommends more decentralization of power and more participative leadership as one dimension of empowerment and thus greater situation control for employees. In fact, however, increasing situation control involves specific risks (including co-ordination problems). Without concurrent integration to cushion these risks through orientation, consensus and trust, increasing situation control therefore leads not to a further increase in innovativeness but to a decline. This first empirical demonstration of the covert curvilinear relationship between situation control and innovativeness in n 101 organizations reveals these risks. At the same time, it calls into question the widespread recommendations in the literature for action on innovation-friendly organization and leadership.

The more situation control, the more innovation? - Putting the linearity thesis to the test

For the purpose of promoting innovativeness in organisations, the literature recommends more decentralisation of power and more participative leadership as one dimension of empowerment and, thus, greater situation control for employees. In fact, however, increasing situation control involves specific risks (including coordination problems). Without concurrent integration to cushion these risks through orientation, consensus and trust, increasing situation control leads not to a further increase in innovativeness but to a decline. This first empirical demonstration of the covert curvilinear relationship between situation control and innovativeness in N = 101 organisations reveals these risks. At the same time, it calls into question the widespread recommendations in the literature for action on innovation friendly organisations and leadership. Conclusions are drawn from the findings with regard to the theory of innovation promotion and the methodology of innovation research.

Empowerment in the Context of Transformational Change: A Study of Acquisitions and Privatizations in Eastern Europe

This paper examines conditions under which empowerment (decision autonomy, dialogic leadership) is connected with positive and negative effects, respectively, in regard to managing transformational change in Eastern Europe. Acquisitions by foreign investors in Poland and Russia (N = 45 companies) and privatizations through employee buy-out in Romania (N = 5 companies) are contrasted in this study. It is shown that empowerment within these two variants of transformational change is connected in different ways with success indicators of crisis management. From these findings, we deduce practical consequences for empowerment and transformational change, along with suggestions for future research.

Der Einsatz von Macht als Bedingung des Führungserfolgs im Orchester

Zusammenfassung. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Modell entwickelt, das den Fuhrungserfolg -die kunstlerische Qualitat- eines Orchesters durch das Fuhrungsverhalten des Dirigenten erklart. Das Fuhrungsverhalten des Dirigenten wird dabei uber die Machtgrundlagen beschrieben, die er gegenuber den Orchestermusikern einsetzt. Durch konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen lassen sich im Orchester vier Machtgrundlagen empirisch bestatigen: Expertenwissen/Identifikation, Information, Positionsmacht sowie immaterielle und materielle Belohnung/Bestrafung. Die Erklarungskraft dieses Modells wird an einer Stichprobe von N = 436 Musikern aus 30 deutschen Orchestern mit Hilfe linearer Strukturgleichungsmodelle uberpruft. Alle Indikatoren der Anpassungsgute verweisen auf eine gute Passung des rekursiven Vier-Faktorenmodells der Machtgrundlagen als Determinanten der kunstlerischen Qualitat des Orchesters. Den starksten positiven Einfluss auf die kunstlerische Qualitat des Orchesters hat Expertenwissen/Identifikation.