IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v114y2020icp254-264.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The digital footprint of innovators: Using email to detect the most creative people in your organization

Author

Listed:
  • Gloor, Peter A.
  • Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea
  • Grippa, Francesca

Abstract

We propose a novel method for finding the most innovative people in an organization, using email to analyze structure and dynamics of the organization’s online communication. To illustrate our approach, we analyzed the email archive of 2000 members of the R&D department of a US multinational company. We use metrics of social network analysis extended with meta-data of interaction dynamics to calculate features for individual employees: their network positions, messages sent and received, pings to others and response times. We find a distinction between innovation group leaders and subject matter experts focused on publishing papers and patents. Innovation administrators have a higher number of direct contacts, are more committed in conversations and receive more messages than they send. We also found significant differences between innovators oriented towards internal awards and innovators more concerned with external recognition of their work.

Suggested Citation

  • Gloor, Peter A. & Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea & Grippa, Francesca, 2020. "The digital footprint of innovators: Using email to detect the most creative people in your organization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 254-264.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:114:y:2020:i:c:p:254-264
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320302496
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee Fleming & David M. Waguespack, 2007. "Brokerage, Boundary Spanning, and Leadership in Open Innovation Communities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(2), pages 165-180, April.
    2. Anis Khedhaouria & Francesco Montani & Roy Thurik, 2017. "Time pressure and team member creativity within R&D projects: The role of learning orientation and knowledge sourcing," Post-Print hal-02048734, HAL.
    3. Chong, Eric, 2013. "Managerial competencies and career advancement: A comparative study of managers in two countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 345-353.
    4. Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Kamal, Muhammad Mustafa & Irani, Zahir & Weerakkody, Vishanth, 2017. "Critical analysis of Big Data challenges and analytical methods," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 263-286.
    5. Ann Majchrzak & Ronald E. Rice & Nelson King & Arvind Malhotra & Sulin Ba, 2000. "Computer-Mediated Inter-Organizational Knowledge-Sharing: Insights from a Virtual Team Innovating Using a Collaborative Tool," Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ), IGI Global, vol. 13(1), pages 44-53, January.
    6. Alexander Brem & Rogelio Puente-Díaz & Marine Agogué, 2017. "Creativity and Innovation: State of the Art and Future Perspectives for Research," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Alexander Brem & Rogelio Puente-Diaz & Marine Agogué (ed.), The Role of Creativity in the Management of Innovation State of the Art and Future Research Outlook, chapter 1, pages 1-12, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Gloor, Peter & Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea & Giacomelli, Gianni & Saran, Tejasvita & Grippa, Francesca, 2017. "The impact of virtual mirroring on customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 67-76.
    8. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy & Ricardo B. Duque & Marcus Antonius Ynalvez & Wesley Shrum, 2007. "Scientific collaboration and the Kerala model: does the internet make a difference?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(7), pages 982-996.
    9. Lumpkin, G. T. & Dess, Gregory G., 2001. "Linking two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to firm performance: The moderating role of environment and industry life cycle," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 429-451, September.
    10. Robin Cowan & Nicolas Jonard & Jean-Benoit Zimmermann, 2007. "Bilateral Collaboration and the Emergence of Innovation Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(7), pages 1051-1067, July.
    11. Henry Sauermann & Wesley M. Cohen, 2010. "What Makes Them Tick? Employee Motives and Firm Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(12), pages 2134-2153, December.
    12. Sousa, Maria José & Rocha, Álvaro, 2019. "Skills for disruptive digital business," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 257-263.
    13. Ornit Raz & Peter A. Gloor, 2007. "Size Really Matters--New Insights for Start-ups' Survival," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(2), pages 169-177, February.
    14. Gino Cattani & Simone Ferriani, 2008. "A Core/Periphery Perspective on Individual Creative Performance: Social Networks and Cinematic Achievements in the Hollywood Film Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(6), pages 824-844, December.
    15. Mirchandani, Dinesh A. & Lederer, Albert L., 2008. "The impact of autonomy on information systems planning effectiveness," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 789-807, October.
    16. Yar M. Ebadi & James M. Utterback, 1984. "The Effects of Communication on Technological Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 572-585, May.
    17. Gawke, Jason C. & Gorgievski, Marjan J. & Bakker, Arnold B., 2019. "Measuring intrapreneurship at the individual level: Development and validation of the Employee Intrapreneurship Scale (EIS)," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 806-817.
    18. Kim, Bowon & Oh, Heungshik, 2002. "An effective R&D performance measurement system: survey of Korean R&D researchers," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 19-31, February.
    19. Fosfuri, Andrea & Tribø, Josep A., 2008. "Exploring the antecedents of potential absorptive capacity and its impact on innovation performance," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 173-187, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francesca Greco & Ken Riopelle & Francesca Grippa & Andrea Fronzetti Colladon & Julia Gluesing, 2021. "Linguistic sleuthing for innovators," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 1027-1045, June.
    2. Erkin Altuntas & Peter A. Gloor & Pascal Budner, 2022. "Measuring Ethical Values with AI for Better Teamwork," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-28, April.
    3. Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea & Toschi, Laura & Ughetto, Elisa & Greco, Francesca, 2023. "The language and social behavior of innovators," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea & Toschi, Laura & Ughetto, Elisa & Greco, Francesca, 2023. "The language and social behavior of innovators," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Li Li & Haifen Lin & Yibo Lyu, 2022. "Technology cluster coupling and invulnerability of industrial innovation networks: the role of centralized structure and technological turbulence," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(3), pages 1209-1231, March.
    3. Zheng, Lu & Ulrich, Klaus & Sendra-García, Javier, 2021. "Qualitative comparative analysis: Configurational paths to innovation performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 83-93.
    4. Pankaj C. Patel & Marko Kohtamäki & Vinit Parida & Joakim Wincent, 2015. "Entrepreneurial orientation-as-experimentation and firm performance: The enabling role of absorptive capacity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(11), pages 1739-1749, November.
    5. Di Vaio, Assunta & Palladino, Rosa & Hassan, Rohail & Escobar, Octavio, 2020. "Artificial intelligence and business models in the sustainable development goals perspective: A systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 283-314.
    6. Ana Ferreira & Ana Lúcia Teixeira, 2016. "Intra- And Extra-Organisational Foundations Of Innovation Processes — The Information And Communication Technology Sector Under The Crisis In Portugal," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(06), pages 1-44, August.
    7. Zwick, Thomas & Frosch, Katharina & Hoisl, Karin & Harhoff, Dietmar, 2017. "The power of individual-level drivers of inventive performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 121-137.
    8. Eller, Robert & Alford, Philip & Kallmünzer, Andreas & Peters, Mike, 2020. "Antecedents, consequences, and challenges of small and medium-sized enterprise digitalization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 119-127.
    9. Ardita Malaj & Selim Zaim & Nizamettin Bayyurt & Merve Tarim, 2023. "ESIB’s Antecedents: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Application in the Manufacturing Industry in Albania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    10. Sándor Juhász & Gergő Tóth & Balázs Lengyel, 2020. "Brokering the core and the periphery: Creative success and collaboration networks in the film industry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Yongbin Zhao & Yuan Li & Soo Hoon Lee & Long Bo Chen, 2011. "Entrepreneurial Orientation, Organizational Learning, and Performance: Evidence from China," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(2), pages 293-317, March.
    12. Kerr, Jon & Coviello, Nicole, 2020. "Weaving network theory into effectuation: A multi-level reconceptualization of effectual dynamics," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    13. Zhanna A. Mingaleva & Lyudmila N. Deputatova & Nikolay B. Akatov & Yurii V. Starkov & Elena Mitrofanova, 2019. "Application of HADI-cycle for providing sustainability of processes of knowledge and innovation," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(2), pages 1628-1640, December.
    14. Rampersad, Giselle, 2020. "Robot will take your job: Innovation for an era of artificial intelligence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 68-74.
    15. M. Laura Frigotto & Massimo Riccaboni, 2011. "A few special cases: scientific creativity and network dynamics in the field of rare diseases," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 89(1), pages 397-420, October.
    16. Feliciano-Cestero, María M. & Ameen, Nisreen & Kotabe, Masaaki & Paul, Justin & Signoret, Mario, 2023. "Is digital transformation threatened? A systematic literature review of the factors influencing firms’ digital transformation and internationalization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    17. Linus Dahlander & Lars Frederiksen, 2012. "The Core and Cosmopolitans: A Relational View of Innovation in User Communities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 988-1007, August.
    18. Haenlein, Michael & Kaplan, Andreas, 2021. "Artificial intelligence and robotics: Shaking up the business world and society at large," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 405-407.
    19. Ioanna Kastelli & Georgios Siokas & Aggelos Tsakanikas, 2024. "Entrepreneurial Absorptive Capacity As Enabler of Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 9667-9698, June.
    20. Barchiesi, Maria Assunta & Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea, 2021. "Big data and big values: When companies need to rethink themselves," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 714-722.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:114:y:2020:i:c:p:254-264. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.