[article] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI

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Browsing [article] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI by Department "Design Factory"

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  • Adapting to the changing needs of managing innovative projects
    (2016) Rekonen, Satu; Björklund, Tua A.
     Factories | A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the changes in managerial activities and challengesat different phases of innovative projects. Design/methodology/approach – Six NPD project managers were interviewed in three differentproject phases in a qualitative, longitudinal design. The resulting 18 semi-structured face-to-faceinterviews were content analyzed and categorized according to thematic similarity. Findings – Altogether 19 categories describing managerial concerns in managing innovative projectswere recognized. Task-oriented, rather than people-oriented, approaches were dominant throughoutthe projects, although the reported concerns clearly varied at each phase. The early development phaseemerged as a transition point, where managers had to transform their roles, reported activitiesdecreased, and reported challenges increased. Research limitations/implications – Although based on a small number of participants in a singlesetting, the results highlight the need for longitudinal studies and differentiating between the variousphases of the innovation process, as there was great variance in the concerns of each phase.Furthermore, domain expertise seemed to have a large impact on how the managers reformulated theirrole in transitioning from the front-end to the development phases. Practical implications – The present study emphasizes the need to support managers intransitioning between different innovation phases and to recognize the need to adjust managerial roles.Further, it seemed crucial to establish the practices supporting successful teamwork in the front-endphase before the first phase transition. Originality/value – The study is a rare example of a longitudinal research design examining theimplications and transition between different phases of the innovation process within the sameprojects for project managers.
  • Perceived Managerial Functions in the Front-End of Innovation
    (2016) Rekonen, Satu; Bjorklund, Tua A.
     Factories | A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
    Purpose: Exploring managerial functions and related activities of inexperienced projectmanagers in the front-end of the innovation process (FEI). Design/methodology/approach: Fifteen student project managers were interviewed while they were engaged in the front-end phase of their respective 8-month projects. 757 interview transcript segments on their perceptions of managerial functions were categorized based on thematic similarity of content.Findings: Four major managerial functions emerged: providing structural support, coordinating and acting as a link, empowering the team, and encouraging and providing social support. Out of these, traditional task-oriented managerial functions were emphasized. Research limitations/implications: Although limited by the small amount of participants in a university setting, the results suggest that task-oriented managerial functions are dominant even in the FEI for inexperienced project managers. More research is needed to understand the antecedents and consequences of such task- dominance, and whether it persists as more experience is accrued. On the other hand, domain knowledge seemed to play a smaller role than indicated by previous research. Practical implications: Project managers should pay attention to creating structure in the uncertain front-end phase. Swift familiarization with the capabilities and practices of each team member cannot be overemphasized, as otherwise the heterogeneity of the team might become a limitation rather than asset. On the other hand, domain experience of the manager may not be necessary in the FEI. Originality/value: The study addresses the gap in previous research on managerial functions specifically in the FEI. Task-oriented managerial functions emerged as way of novice project managers attempting to deal with the fluctuating contingencies in order to foster innovation.