On the Shoulders of Ants - Employee-Driven Innovation: A case study of one organization in the digital payment sector

Abstract

There is no secret that organizations look for new sources of innovation. Previous research in innovation studies has long recognized the role of R&D and special departments as the source and drivers of innovation. At the same time, the increased trend of decentralisation in organizations creates spaces for employees to be drivers of innovation and has led to the concept of Employee-Driven Innovation (EDI). Placed within innovation studies focusing on micro-level activities and processes in organizations, the concept of EDI is based on the understanding that innovation occurs through the daily practice and culture amongst employees. Even though scholars treat the concept of EDI as incipient, previous research in innovation studies has focused on the individual-organization-innovation interaction through studies of creativity and innovative behaviour. In this thesis I combine two traditional theories extracted from innovation studies, namely creativity and the activation of innovation, with previous research regarding EDI. The purpose is to examine how to organise a work environment consisting of conditions beneficial to EDI, as well as how it affects the willingness of employees to be innovative. The research is based on semi structured in-depth interviews with employees recruited from one of the leading organizations in the Norwegian digital payment industry. This will provide insight into how an organization facilitates a work environment which creates spaces for employees to drive innovation, and how it affects employees` willingness to be innovative. In addition, the combination of theory used in this thesis will provide insight into the distinction between creativity and innovation. Even though several of the conditions serving as drivers to the practice of EDI are present in a work environment, this study shows that the conditions cannot exist alone. I have found that there is a need for a holistic approach, and thereby a need for cooperation and balance between the conditions present in order to best facilitate the practice of EDI. In addition, the latter reveals a certain distinction between creativity and innovation, as the presence of one condition alone might promote creativity but need the support from other conditions in order to create a space which positions employees as drivers to innovation.