Collaboration as a driver of EDI

Abstract

A growing perspective on innovation suggests that significant innovation can stem from employees' daily activities. Traditional innovation practices often delegate decision-making to a select group, typically R&D departments or specialized units. However, this approach overlooks the innovation potential distributed across all employees in an organization. Recent understanding challenges this traditional view, emphasizing that all employees possess the potential for innovation. Recognizing and harnessing this potential can lead to more distributed and effective innovation practices within organizations. This concept is referred to as Employee-Driven Innovation.
In the context of Employee-Driven Innovation (EDI), collaboration is crucial for successful development and implementation. Effective collaboration, reliant on structures promoting knowledge exchange, skill development, and resource sharing, amplifies an organization's performance by capitalizing on individual strengths and expertise. However, the specific impact of collaboration on EDI practices is not well-understood, creating a gap in the literature and an opportunity to explore how collaboration influences EDI. Understanding these dynamics can inform and shape effective EDI practices. Therefore, it's essential to investigate the influence of collaborative activity on EDI, guiding the formation of effective strategies and driving successful EDI practices.
This research narrows its focus to the development and implementation phase of Employee-Driven Innovation (EDI), as the literature suggests this phase is most influenced by collaborative activities and the organizational context allows deeper research into this specific phase. The central question being explored in this research is: how do collaborative activities drive the development and implementation of EDI initiatives?
To address this, a case study is conducted within a single organization, Stedin, a grid operator in the Netherlands. The study encompasses several EDI initiatives and involves questioning both the initiators of the initiatives and collaborators during the development and implementation phase. A semi-structured interview format is used to gather insights.
This research reveals key insights into the contrasting collaborative activities of the "fuzzy front end" and the "back end" of the development and implementation process of EDI initiatives. The fuzzy front end, characterized by exploration, thrives on dynamic, distant, and informal collaboration. These characteristics facilitate swift interactions, overcome organizational resistance, and prevent collective decision-making structures, thus promoting speed and flexibility.
Conversely, the back end, typically more specialized and complex, benefits from stable, intimate, and homogeneous collaboration. This phase involves a time-consuming and complex role transfer, transitioning the EDI to an innovation that can be adopted organization-wide. Stable, homogeneous and intimate collaboration ensures effective implementation and a smooth transition of ownership...