TY - UNPB

T1 - Leveraging Resistance to Change and the Skunk Works Model of Innovation

AU - Fosfuri, Andrea

AU - Rønde, Thomas

N1 - JEL Classification: L2, M12, M54, O31, O32

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - We study a situation in which an R&D department promotes the introduction of an innovation that results in costly re-adjustments for a production department. In response, the production department tries to resist change by improving the existing technology. We show that firms balancing the strengths of the two departments perform better. As a negative effect, resistance to change might distort the R&D department's effort away from radical innovations. The firm can solve this problem by implementing the so-called skunk works model of innovation where the R&D department is isolated from the rest of the organization. Several implications for managing resistance to change and for the optimal design of R&D activities are derived

AB - We study a situation in which an R&D department promotes the introduction of an innovation that results in costly re-adjustments for a production department. In response, the production department tries to resist change by improving the existing technology. We show that firms balancing the strengths of the two departments perform better. As a negative effect, resistance to change might distort the R&D department's effort away from radical innovations. The firm can solve this problem by implementing the so-called skunk works model of innovation where the R&D department is isolated from the rest of the organization. Several implications for managing resistance to change and for the optimal design of R&D activities are derived

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - resistance to change

KW - innovation

KW - skunk works model

KW - contest

M3 - Working paper

BT - Leveraging Resistance to Change and the Skunk Works Model of Innovation

PB - Centre for Industial Economics, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen

ER -