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Personal Characteristics Of Innovators — An Empirical Study Of Roles In Innovation Management

Author

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  • MARTINA N. MANSFELD

    (Robert Bosch GmbH, Corporate Organizational, Development and Efficient Processes (C/HDO), Borsigstr. 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • KATHARINA HÖLZLE

    (Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany)

  • HANS GEORG GEMÜNDEN

    (Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

First and foremost, innovation is driven by people. These people have specific personal characteristics and fulfil designated roles in innovation management. We have conducted an empirical study among 190 employees in R&D departments of mature international firms from four different countries (Germany, U.S.A., Great Britain and Switzerland) currently working on innovation projects. Using multivariate analyses, we could identify personal characteristics associated with different roles people can take over the course of an innovation project. These roles are called expert, power, process or relationship promotor as well as champion. The identified personal characteristics exhibit a distinctive pattern in their combined occurrence for each role. Our results show a detailed picture of specific personal characteristics of individuals, so called innovators, necessary for successful innovation. Based on these findings, we derive recommendations for a targeted human resource acquisition and a better selection of employees for successful innovation teams.

Suggested Citation

  • Martina N. Mansfeld & Katharina Hölzle & Hans Georg Gemünden, 2010. "Personal Characteristics Of Innovators — An Empirical Study Of Roles In Innovation Management," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(06), pages 1129-1147.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:14:y:2010:i:06:n:s1363919610003033
    DOI: 10.1142/S1363919610003033
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mohamed Zain & Norizan Kassim & Nasser Kadasah, 2017. "Isn’T It Now A Crucial Time For Saudi Arabian Firms To Be More Innovative And Competitive?," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(03), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Maximilian A. Maier & Alexander Brem, 2018. "What innovation managers really do: a multiple-case investigation into the informal role profiles of innovation managers," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 1055-1080, October.
    3. Fernandez-Vidal, Jorge & Antonio Perotti, Francesco & Gonzalez, Reyes & Gasco, Jose, 2022. "Managing digital transformation: The view from the top," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 29-41.
    4. Lotta Hassi & Satu Rekonen, 2018. "How Individual Characteristics Promote Experimentation In Innovation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(04), pages 1-30, May.
    5. Andreas Braun & Laura Bockelmann, 2016. "An Individual Perspective On Open Innovation Capabilities In The Context Of Haute Cuisine," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(01), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Maximilian A. Maier & Peter Rück & Alexander Brem, 2017. "How to Integrate Suppliers into the Innovation Process? An Explorative Case of Champion Formalization in the Purchasing Department in Times of Open Innovation," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(06), pages 1-17, December.
    7. Lashitew, Addisu A., 2023. "When businesses go digital: The role of CEO attributes in technology adoption and utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    8. de Jong, Jeroen P.J. & Rigtering, Coen & Spaans, Lara, 2023. "Heroes of diffusion: Making user innovations widely available," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).
    9. Culasso, Francesca & Gavurova, Beata & Crocco, Edoardo & Giacosa, Elisa, 2023. "Empirical identification of the chief digital officer role: A latent Dirichlet allocation approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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