Graduation Year

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Business Administration

Major Professor

Donald P. Addision II, DM

Co-Major Professor

Lisa Gaynor, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jung Park, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Chris Pantzalis, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Dahlia Robinson, Ph.D.

Keywords

Decision Making, New Product, New Service, Idea Selection, Innovation

Abstract

A review of the innovation literature reveals theoretical models and success factors that pertain to the front end of innovation. However these models and factors fail to offer insight into factors large organizations consider when specifically performing the activity of idea selection. To bridge this gap, a grounded theory method was used to extract knowledge on innovation idea selection from 28 senior executives and innovation directors from 10 different, large organizations (defined as annual revenues greater than $1 billion). Analysis of the interview data resulted in the identification of 5 systemic and 4 implementation factors that large organizations consider when selecting innovation ideas. The 5 systemic factors are the critical selection factors that can be utilized by managers in practice. They include organization, customer, financial, strategic, and market/industry factors. The 4 implementation factors reflect novel findings related to the underlying issues with applying the systemic factors in idea selection. The implementation factors include innovation classification, innovation need, innovation support, and innovation alignment. Identifying critical decision making factors contributes to the innovation literature and provides large organizations with a better understanding of the selection phenomenon and enables them to apply selected factors to improve their current approach.

Download

Share

COinS