Redesigning and applying the open innovation contest model to a South African financial firm
| dc.contributor.author | Singh, Ameeth | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Ahwireng-Obeng, F. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-09-30T12:11:30Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-09-30T12:11:30Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021 | |
| dc.description | A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Innovation Studies to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Firms have been experimenting with various forms of innovation in order to overcome the challenges brought about by technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). One particular 4IR approach, Open Innovation (OI), allows firms to access a large crowd of individuals outside the firm and has recorded significant innovations in this way. OI has been used extensively, but some firms have used it differently to others. The Land Bank, for example, opted for internal rather than external OI, by tapping into the creativity of its employees. But, they were not as successful as those firms that used external OI. This is because employee innovation is not straightforward. It requires a different management style to managing external individuals or normal everyday employee working environments. Moreover, there is a lack of research on Open Innovation Contests (OICs) and innovation management practices to assist managers in navigating the complexities of employee innovation. This study has combined these research strands to provide management practices that are best for managing employee innovation. To do this, a qualitative study was undertaken where an interview was used to investigate employee’s experiences and expectations of innovation management. The interview was developed from theory on OICs and innovation management practices and eight employees of the Land Bank were interviewed. The research findings indicated that managing employees for innovation is quite challenging because employees view innovation as something that is out of the ordinary and they expect the firm to use specialized management techniques to inspire and motivate them. Five important themes emerged from the data collected, namely a) Role of leadership in innovation, b) Role of management in innovation, c) Learning and development for innovation, d) Rewarding innovation, and e) Robust innovation process. In the eyes of employees, the leadership team has the most amount of influence and power to make changes and must use these attributes to create a culture of innovation that will encourage creativity and risk taking among employees. Managers, on the other hand, were found to also have an important role to play in innovation. Employees want them to follow a contemporary approach to managing innovation by establishing a work environment that grants employees’ flexibility, autonomy, trust, and respect. Employees are enthusiastic about learning from their mistakes in innovation because it increases their knowledge base and motivates them to continue innovating. Receiving feedback is therefore important to them but they expect to receive feedback in a form that they can understand and incorporate into future innovations. Rewarding employees for their innovation is important to them but they do not always expect to be financially rewarded, especially if firms are experiencing financial constraints | |
| dc.description.submitter | MM2024 | |
| dc.faculty | Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Singh, Ameeth. (2021). Redesigning and applying the open innovation contest model to a South African financial firm [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41213 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41213 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg | |
| dc.rights | © 2021 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. | |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg | |
| dc.school | WITS Business School | |
| dc.subject | Innovation | |
| dc.subject | Open Innovation Contest | |
| dc.subject | Firm | |
| dc.subject | South Africa | |
| dc.subject | innovation management practices | |
| dc.subject | Creativity | |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.subject.other | SDG-8: Decent work and economic growth | |
| dc.title | Redesigning and applying the open innovation contest model to a South African financial firm | |
| dc.type | Dissertation |