Organisational self‐assessment and the adoption of managerial innovations

Purpose - This paper investigates manager's use of self‐assessment in diagnostic routines to assist organisations embarking on major organisational change involving the adoption of a managerial innovation. Design/methodology/approach - The illustrative case focuses on the comparative adoption of two assessment tools set within a methodology developed via action research to improve the performance of new process development in the specialty chemical industry. Findings - Features of the case context, such as prior commitment to the methodology, contribute to explaining managerial preferences for the non‐financial diagnostic tool over the financial one. Practical implications - For practitioners the case illustrates how prior commitment can obscure rational considerations when faced with planning and implementing major change, particularly so when introducing managerial innovations. For academics the case study highlights the potential for fruitful research into the design and use of self‐assessment routines that precede or coincide with the adoption and implementation of such managerial innovations. Originality/value - The paper focuses on self‐assessment routines constructed to aid chemical firms contemplating the adoption of a major managerial innovation; a methodology that entails a radical approach to designing and developing new manufacturing processes for chemical production.