Organizing Entrepreneurial Teams: A Field Experiment on Autonomy over Choosing Teams and Ideas

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 1

Authors: Boss, Viktoria; Dahlander, Linus; Ihl, Christoph; Jayaraman, Rajshri

Abstract: Scholars have suggested that autonomy can lead to better entrepreneurial team pe ... Expand

Abstract: Scholars have suggested that autonomy can lead to better entrepreneurial team performance. Yet, there are different types of autonomy, and they come at a cost. We shed light on whether two fundamental organizational design choices—granting teams autonomy to (1) choose project ideas to work on and (2) choose team members to work with—affect performance. We run a field experiment involving 939 students in a lean startup entrepreneurship course over 11 weeks. The aim is to disentangle the separate and joint effects of granting autonomy over choosing teams and choosing ideas compared with a baseline treatment with preassigned ideas and team members. We find that teams with autonomy over choosing either ideas or team members outperform teams in the baseline treatment as measured by pitch deck performance. The effect of choosing ideas is significantly stronger than the effect of choosing teams. However, the performance gains vanish for teams that are granted full autonomy over choosing both ideas and teams. This suggests the two forms of autonomy are substitutes. Causal mediation analysis reveals that the main effects of choosing ideas or teams can be partly explained by a better match of ideas with team members’ interests and prior network contacts among team members, respectively. Although homophily and lack of team diversity cannot explain the performance drop among teams with full autonomy, our results suggest that self-selected teams fall prey to overconfidence and complacency too early to fully exploit the potential of their chosen idea. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on organizational design, autonomy, and innovation.History: This paper has been accepted for the Organization Science Special Issue on Experiments in Organizational Theory.Funding: The authors are grateful for funding from the Innovation Growth Laboratory, the Peter Curtius Foundation, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [Grant CRC TRR 190].Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1520. Collapse

Topics: team productivity entrepreneurship missing data intrinsic motivation evaluation criteria

Methods: experiment experimental group survey causal mediation analysis field experiment

To Plan or not to Plan? Exploring Entrepreneurial Logics in Digital Servitization

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Jaspert, D.; Ebel, M.; Maihöfer, S.; Poeppelbuss, J.

Abstract: Digital servitization is of increasing concern for manufacturers to exploit the ... Expand

Abstract: Digital servitization is of increasing concern for manufacturers to exploit the potentials of digitalization with new service offerings. In this context, substantial changes within a firm´s capabilities, processes and mindset of employees need to be considered. To better understand such changes, we carve out behavioral logics of manufacturers undergoing digital servitization. An alternate template research design is used to discover the entrepreneurial logics of effectuation, causation, and bricolage. For this purpose, we conducted 13 semi-structured interviews with experts from the German manufacturing industry. Our results show that firms approaching digital servitization via hybrid decision logics. Causation can be found within all organizations. Effectuation is integrated to various degrees. Against it, the bricolage-logic is barely present. In total, the results provide new insights for digital servitization and for organizational ambidexterity. Collapse

Topics: innovation management digital service business model entrepreneurship lean start-up approach

Methods: qualitative interview literature study design methodology personal interview design artifact

Theories: ambidexterity theory

Introduction to the Minitrack on Agile and Lean: Organizations, Products and Development

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Saltz, Jeffrey; Anderson, Edward; Sutherland, Alex

Abstract: Over the past two decades, implementation of Agile and Lean methods for softwar ... Expand

Abstract: Over the past two decades, implementation of Agile and Lean methods for software development has increased radically. Agile and Lean practices (which we define broadly to include Scrum, XP, Lean Startup, as well as other related approaches) have been shown to decisively improve the rapidity and success of software projects. Moreover, newer techniques, such as DevOps are emerging, platforms and other new business models are proliferating, and organizations are adapting Agile and Lean methods to non-digital or hybrid digital-physical projects. Research, however, has not kept pace with this growth, which is problematic because understanding how to improve Agile and Lean methods is becoming ever more vital to business success. Collapse

Topics: agile software development devops innovation management system development method IT project

Methods: design methodology case study ethnography

Theories: sociotechnical systems theory

Designing Digital Market Offerings: How Digital Ventures Navigate the Tension Between Generative Digital Technology and the Current Environment

2022 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 7

Authors: Lehmann, Julian; Recker, Jan; Yoo, Youngjin; Rosenkranz, Christoph

Abstract: Digital ventures must navigate a key tension as they design new digital market o ... Expand

Abstract: Digital ventures must navigate a key tension as they design new digital market offerings—that is, products or services that are embodied in digital technologies or enabled by them. On the one hand, digital ventures pursue a vision that builds on what might be possible through the generative potential that digital technology offers; on the other hand, they face an environment in the here and now, with existing customer preferences, extant regulations, and legacy technology. Taking a designing view, we trace how six independent digital ventures in the German financial services industry dealt with this tension as they created their digital market offerings. Our findings suggest that digital ventures enact three designing mechanisms to resolve the tension: bounding the technology scope, transposing through digital objects, and probing the solution space. Through these mechanisms, digital ventures construct a buffer—one that has functional, material, and temporal dimensions—between the vision they gradually realize through their market offering and the here-and-now conditions of the environment that digital ventures enter. Collapse

Topics: electronic market electronic finance entrepreneurship blockchain information system use

Methods: qualitative interview theory development archival research case study design science

Design-Driven Smart Service Innovation

2021 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ebel, Martin

Abstract: Digitalization promises value creation potential that needs to be leveraged. Co ... Expand

Abstract: Digitalization promises value creation potential that needs to be leveraged. Consequently, a stronger service orientation is often the result, and smart services are created. Hereby, the fundamental role of customersv alue in use is gaining importance in the innovation efforts of industrial companies. This transformation challenges innovation approaches and currently existing ways of thinking, especially in product centric industries, like manufacturing. To facilitate such transformation this study focuses on the early innovation phase. A method, developed in a design science research process, is presented, that combines related works, e.g. on service design and the means-end-chain theory into a single procedure, that helps to implement smart service innovation in a more customer-oriented and targeted manner. The method is demonstrated and evaluated in a single case study with two German manufacturing companies. Results show that the method can help to overcome known challenges in smart service innovation, and change existing mental models, even if conducted virtually. Collapse

Topics: innovation management business process innovation pandemic lean start-up approach value creation

Methods: qualitative interview design process case study design science personal interview

Theories: mean end chain theory

Agile and Lean: Organizations, Products, and Development

2021 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Saltz, Jeffrey; Anderson, Edward; Sutherland, Alex

Abstract: Over the past two decades, research in the area of agile and lean software devel ... Expand

Abstract: Over the past two decades, research in the area of agile and lean software development has mirrored the strong growth of the use of agile and lean methodologies. Agile and lean management practices (which we define broadly to include Scrum, XP, Lean Startup and other related approaches) roughly triple the success rate of software projects over traditional management approaches. Because software projects contribute so broadly to economic and social improvement, research on agile methods may produce significant productivity gains. However, much work remains to enable all the benefits of agile and lean concepts to be realized. Collapse

Topics: systems development agile software development devops lean start-up approach IT project

Methods: design methodology survey case study theory development

A quantitative and qualitative study of the link between business process management and digital innovation

2021 | Information & Management | Citations: 6

Authors: Van Looy, Amy

Abstract: The information revolution leaves its mark on businesses, resulting in organizat ... Expand

Abstract: The information revolution leaves its mark on businesses, resulting in organizations looking for digital inno­ vation (DI) to apply to their business processes and anticipate competitors. Since the interplay between business process management (BPM) and DI has been underdeveloped, this mixed-methods article investigates the strength and nature of the relationship. We supplement the findings of an international survey (stage 1) with explanations from an expert panel (stage 2) to generalize a positive yet moderate link because of manifold contextual factors affecting strategic decision-making. We extend the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and profile organizations along their digital process innovation (DPI) mastery in a readiness matrix. Collapse

Topics: innovation management business process management decision making business model information systems strategy

Methods: survey qualitative interview expert panel maturity model parametric test

Theories: theory of everything management theory

A Longitudinal Study of a Capstone Course

2020 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Gan, Benjamin Kok Siew; Ouh, Eng Lieh; LEE, Yin Yin Fiona

Abstract: This is a 7 years study on a capstone course completed by 1700+ students for 20 ... Expand

Abstract: This is a 7 years study on a capstone course completed by 1700+ students for 200+ organizations involving 300+ projects. Student teams deliver a system to solve real-world problems proposed by industry partners. We want to understand what independent variables influence student performance. We analyzed the deployment status of systems delivered, the type of organization/industry, the number of meetings and the technology used. Our results show some organization value proof of concept over fully deployed systems, student strengths are in Infocomm and Finance projects, the number of meetings is a weak correlation to performance and best performing projects are fully deployed on iOS using Microsoft technologies. Faculty can use these insights to focus on factors such as the type of industry projects and technology used. They may not be overly concern if student teams have fewer meetings or did not fully deployed their system, so long as they create value. Collapse

Topics: MySQL database system iOS team productivity project management

Methods: survey parametric test Student's t-test nonparametric test design artifact

Business Model Adaptation: Evidence of Lean Experimentation in Digital Startups

2020 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Ghezzi, Antonio; di Milano, Politecnico

Abstract: Digital startups frequently adapt their business model, but in doing so they fac ... Expand

Abstract: Digital startups frequently adapt their business model, but in doing so they face resource scarcity and need to “make-do” in validating and implementing their design changes at a practical level. We thus argue that digital startups employ a Lean Experimental approach when adapting their BM to contextual conditions. By means of an exploratory multiple-case study on Digital startups, this research investigates the factors driving the deployment of an experimental approach and proposing some factors that may drive differences in its application. Results suggest that most startups dealing with BM adaptation engage in experimentation practices that can be identified with the Lean Startup Approaches (LSAs), although with different extents of application. In this sense, startups move from scarce resource availability in resembling selected elements of the framework, whereas those with higher resource availability seem to be more prone to adopting LSAs in a structured and customized way at the organizational level. Collapse

Topics: business model digital entrepreneurship lean start-up approach blockchain Google+

Methods: qualitative interview case study multiple case study experiment personal interview

Theories: adaptation-level theory

Do Accelerators Work? If So, How?

2020 | Organization Science | Citations: 5

Authors: Hallen, Benjamin L.; Cohen, Susan L.; Bingham, Christopher B.

Abstract: Accelerators are entrepreneurial programs that attempt to help ventures learn, o ... Expand

Abstract: Accelerators are entrepreneurial programs that attempt to help ventures learn, often utilizing extensive consultation with mentors, program directors, customers, guest speakers, alumni, and peers. Although accelerators have rapidly emerged as prominent players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and academics continue to raise questions about their efficacy. Moreover, relevant organizational literature suggests that, even if accelerators are associated with better venture outcomes, results could be due to mechanisms other than learning, such as sorting or signaling. Drawing on mixed empirical methods that include proprietary data on the ventures accepted and “almost accepted” to a set of top accelerators, we find evidence that some, but not all, of the early accelerators we study substantially aid and accelerate venture development. We also find some evidence of sorting dynamics. These findings are corroborated using an auxiliary quantitative data set constructed from publicly observable data. Complementary qualitative fieldwork suggests a key driver of these accelerator effects is a novel learning mechanism we label broad, intensive, and paced consultation. The implication of these insights is that the practices of early accelerators represent a beneficial and likely replicable form of intervention that may also have relevance for independent entrepreneurs, educational programs, and corporate innovation. Collapse

Topics: website crowdsourcing entrepreneurship LinkedIn database system

Methods: field study qualitative interview mixed method theory development experiment

Theories: organizational behavior theory theory of bounded rationality