Merkmale der Innovationsfähigkeit von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen : ein sozialwissenschaftlicher Beitrag zur innovationsförderlichen Personal- und Organisationsentwicklung

• Design characteristics of small and medium sized enterprises related to their innovative ability : a socio-scientific contribution to a personal and organization development that fosters innovation

Hansen, Alan; Isenhardt, Ingrid (Thesis advisor)

Aachen (2014)
Dissertation / PhD Thesis

Aachen, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2014

Abstract

The present dissertation presents the crucial characteristics of the innovative capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the business location Germany. The characteristics were exemplary rated by executives of research and knowledge-intensive SMEs in terms of their occurrence and relevance. The acknowledgement of the decisive innovation characteristics enables decision-makers in the field of human resources and organizational development to design a working environment that fosters innovation sustainably. To arrive at this knowledge, relevant terms in the research field of innovative capacity were discussed from the perspective of social sciences. Among other things, a holistic understanding of innovation has been reported which comprises in particular those types of innovations which cannot be directly connected with a monetary benefit (e.g. social or structural innovations). This assumption has huge impact on the working relevant framework conditions as the continuous generation of different types of innovation requires the recognition of a wide range of potential influence factors. The present work is based on the assumption that innovativeness is a multidimensional construct which can only be predicted and managed to a limited extend. Furthermore it was explained that the areas human resources and organizational development have a particular impact on the innovation success: The innovativeness of the employees and thus a company highly depends on how it succeeds to realize multifarious (innovation relevant) characteristics in the field of human resources and organization development. In detail, the following research questions (FF) were answered: FF1: Which research method is appropriated to identify, cluster and reduce characteristics of innovative capacity at the business location Germany? FF2: What are the key characteristics of the innovative capacity of SMEs with focus on human resources and organizational development? FF3: How are the identified characteristics observed in matters of their occurrence and relevance by executives from SMEs? FF4: Which recommendations can be formulated for human resource and organizational development in SMEs based on the generated results?