Innovation Climate
How would you define innovation climate?
shared perceptions at the team (or organizational) level as to the extent to which team (or organizational) processes encourage and enable innovation
(Newman, 2020)
What is an innovation process?
Deliberate and new organizational attempts to change production and service processes
(Baer, 2003)
What are some examples of employee behaviors that demonstrate the strong positive relationship to team innovation climate?
creative behaviour, innovative behaviour, use of guidelines, knowledge sharing behaviours
What is the necessity of psychological safety for innovation to result in performance?
while innovation may be present, it only translates into improved firm performance when ideas can be shared in a safe space
How does the presence of psychological safety specifically enable the success of a process innovation effort, as opposed to simply enabling individual idea generation?
The 2003 study examined psychological safety, the feeling of being able to take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences.
What climate or organizational factor is most critical for moving a good idea beyond generation and into the successful implementation (Stage 2) of a process innovation?
Employee initative
What unique characteristics might a climate supporting process innovation have, and what measurement instruments might need to change?
Future research needs to better link innovation climate to specific, non-product innovation types, such as service and administrative innovation.
In a highly standardized, regulated industry (like finance), what are the limits to fostering a climate for initiative, and how can managers balance control with autonomy?
Comfort > Creativity, Standardized processes, Vertical hierarchy
Ex. Limit the scope of required adherence to the outcome and documentation, but allow flexibility in the means for internal support processes.
What are the 3 key dimensions of team innovation climate being influenced strongly on the team level?
Vision
Support for innovation
Task orientation
Why might a strong but negative innovation climate be more problematic for an organization than a weak or ambiguous climate?
A strong negative climate doesn't just block a few ideas; it creates a systemic, self-reinforcing barrier to all discretionary, innovative behavior.
A strong climate is highly resistant to change. When the climate is negative, this resistance becomes a formidable obstacle to managerial attempts to improve innovation.
An ambiguous climate can create opportunity for learning.
So is Gary right? Not enough creative people, am I right?
Nope! There was a pre-existing negative climate, that made employees afraid of making a mistake instead of proceeding with innovative ideas. Spread of blame is lowering that psychological safety to engage with those ideas. Lack of inter-department initiative
What are some organizational level outcomes for organizational innovation climate?
Employees’ perceptions of team innovation climate POSITIVELY influenced innovation diffusion outcomes through heightening their perceptions of organizational culture for innovation
Innovation diffusion outcomes were POSITIVELY related to employees’ perceptions of organizational performance
Which two core dimensions would you prioritize to ensure both validity and actionable results to ensure an innovative climate?
Psychological safety and resource provision
If an organization skips investing in a climate for initiative and only implements new process technologies, what are the likely negative consequences for long-term performance?
Underutilization, under performance, undermined quality, demotivation
What are some antecedents of innovation climate?
Leadership, team characteristics