Understanding Novelty in Organizations

Providing a first tentative understanding of novelty and a set of implications for organizations to manage it, this book focuses on the potential offered by emergent novelty, namely novelty which is neither designed nor pursued. The author asks how organizations might increase their abilities and strategies to benefit from its early recognition. Such potential is broken down into positive terms and demonstrates how early recognition is beneficial both to organizations which aim to seize emergent innovations as well as those which aim to avoid emergent disasters. Understanding Novelty in Organizations aims to rethink the structure and strategies of organizations to gain a new balance between design and randomness in the generation of novelty. The varied perspectives presented in this work will engage scholars interested in novelty, innovation and creativity, and emergency management.

Presents an introduction on novelty and its emergence, drawing on theoretical and empirical research Addresses the issue of novelty within evolutionary theory and organizational studies Presents strategies and structures for engineering novelty Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Maria Laura Frigotto is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Trento, Italy. She has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University (SCANCOR) and at the University of Alberta, and has published widely in international academic journals. Maria Laura has written entries on 'Organization Theory' and 'Novelty in Adaptation' in the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- Part I. Novelty from the Background to the Spotlight.- 2. Novelty in Evolution.- 3. Novelty in Organization Studies.- Part II. A Framework for Novelty.- 4. Novelty Across Consequences and Control.- 5. Black Novelties and the Early Recognition of Emergence.- 6. White Novelties and their Capture.- Part III. A Primer.- 7. A Working Definition and Tentative Models.- 8. Management Strategies and Organizational Implications.