Basic HTML-Version
55 EINBLICKE
13
Creative freedom is the most
reliable strategy for innovation.
tition of longstanding practices. But how can something new
emerge when the same procedures or the same decision
heuristics are repeated day after day?
Consequently, at major companies the development of new
projects is directly linked to breaking with routines. This
sounds like insubordination, like the undermining of reliable
structures and corporate authority.And to a certain extent it is.
But at the same time companies are dependent on precisely
such violations of the rules because these breaches guarantee
their survival and success. Who cares about yesterday‘s pro-
ducts? Consumers want constantly improved products, the
latest technologies, the most sophisticated modern design.
The conflict between routine and stability on the one hand
and renewal and innovation on the other is one of the great
enigmas of organisational research. Routine and breaks with
routine – both aspects are indispensable, yet at the same
time irreconcilable. There is no simple, universally applicable
solution to this dilemma. It can only be resolved from case to
case, by scrutinising the underlying processes.This is also one
of the problems the Oldenburg sociologists Prof. Dr. Martin
Heidenreich and Jannika Mattes have been researching in
the project "Regional Learning at Multinational Companies".
From2006 to 2009 the project teamconducted intensive case
studies on ten innovation projects at large German and French
companies,and described selected innovation processes.One
conclusion it arrived at: innovation within organisations is not
primarily the result of deliberate planning but develops from
the initiatives of individuals.
This is why Mr. Schmidt describes his innovation idea as "his
baby". Ideas like his are protected and nurtured – until they
have matured to the point where they can survive within
company structures.The flexible innovation processes descri-
bed above are integrated as quickly as possible into routine
procedures.To a much greater extent than science previously
assumed it is above all a direct, linear perspective that paves
the way for complex innovation processes within organisa-
tions.Once the trajectory of a project has been clearly defined,
the company adopts a pragmatic approach to the dilemma
of rules and breaking rules.
This is precisely what has happened with the two projects
described above: After a couple of years of intensive research
work Mr. Schmidt had to hand over his project to a large team
of experts led by an experienced project manager.He could no
longer contribute significantly to the details of development
or production, clinical testing or marketing.He observed from
a distance, as it were, how the company integrated his idea
into the organisation‘s routines and turned it into one of the
firm‘s most strategically important medications.
The two engineers at the transport company remained so-
mewhat more closely involved. They played key roles even
after the project had reached a more advanced, official stage.
But here, too, the spectrum of those involved expanded, the
company integrated
experts from other lo-
cations and a project
manager from compa-
ny headquarters took over the helm. Specification sheets are
used to help coordinate the project. These define the technical
features of the product, but also who is responsible for what
and the order in which each step is taken. From this point on
the innovation process is shaped to a surprisingly large degree
by regulations and routines.
The two companies market both products as core strategies.
The fact that they emerged more by chance, thanks to indivi-
dual initiatives, remains hidden from the public. The compa-
nies themselves, however, are no doubt very much aware of
this.They know that their most reliable strategy for innovation
is to allow employees a certain amount of creative freedom.
This tends to be overlooked in the hustle and bustle of every-
day business, meaning that innovators must often fight for
their freedomat first.That they do so is just as important for the
company as it is for the employee.This is a pragmatic approach
to dealingwith a theoretically unsolvable dilemma.But only in
this way can the next tiny seedling of an idea germinate,grow
and flourish before it is incorporated into the strict routines of
an organisation.This is why Herr Schmidt is perfectly satisfied
that at last a sensible variation on his medication exists – and
is probably already tinkering with his next idea.
Dr. Jannika Mattes ist Juniorprofessorin für die „Soziologie euro-
päischer Gesellschaften“ am Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Sie
studierte Europäische Wirtschaft an den Universitäten Bamberg
und Granada (Spanien) und arbeitete als Wissenschaftliche Mit-
arbeiterin in Bamberg und Oldenburg. Forschungsaufenthalte
führten sie nach London (Großbritannien), Uppsala und Lund
(Schweden). Für ihre Dissertation im Jahr 2010 erhielt sie den
Weser-Ems-Wissenschaftspreis.
Dr. Jannika Mattes is junior professor for the "Sociology of European
Societies" at the Institute for Social Sciences. She studied European
economics at the Universities of Bamberg and Granada (Spain) and
worked as a research fellow in Bamberg and Oldenburg. Research
trips took her to London, Uppsala and Lund (Sweden). She won the
Weser-Ems Science Award for her dissertation in 2010.
Die Autorin
The author