An Action Repertoire for the Collaboration in Innovation Networks

Abstract

To develop today’s complex products, people from different organisations collaborate in innovation projects. The collaboration, though, is challenged by their different professional and organisational backgrounds, which determine their goals, their roles and responsibilities, and their expectations. People often struggle to deal with the critical situations that arise from these differences. This thesis seeks to help practitioners deal with the critical situations by providing them with an action repertoire for networked innovation. Based on an explorative literature study and a study of the collaboration during the Senseo coffeemaker’s development, we found the factors that influence the collaboration in innovation networks. When these factors negatively influence the collaboration, they lead to critical situations. In a simulation experiment, we asked 35 experienced networked innovation managers what they would do in these critical situations. This provided an overview of activities from which an action repertoire could be distilled. This repertoire of actions can help practitioners to select an action in the critical situation they experience. With the selection of an action, practitioners can resolve the situation as it emerges and select an action suited to the complexity of their situation. Studying the collaboration in innovation networks extends design research on the complexity of innovating in networks and the collaboration in multidisciplinary teams. The action repertoire provides insights in how to deal with these situations as they occur and enriches the literature that provides guidance on what to do in networked innovation project.