Unpacking the coexistence between improvement and innovation in world-class manufacturing: A dynamic capability approach

Publication date: August 2018Source: Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 133Author(s): Andrea Furlan, Andrea VinelliAbstractRecent contributions in management and organizational literature call for research to investigate how companies can simultaneously pursue initiatives of improvement and innovation. Questions also remain about the extent to which a commitment to continuous improvement hinders innovation. Blending organizational literature with lean management literature on Just in Time, we propose a model that shows how improvement and innovation can co-exist within the same manufacturing plant. We test our hypotheses on an international database using structural equation modelling. Findings show that improvement and innovation coexist within those plants that nurture a supportive organizational context and implement JIT at the same time. While a supportive organizational context is necessary for the coexistence of innovation and improvement, JIT acts as a catalyst that provides resources to innovation activities and incentivizes the firm to replace ill-designed products and processes. Our study offers original contributions that lie at the intersection of operations management and organizational literatures.
Source: Technological Forecasting and Social Change - Category: Science Source Type: research