Making Sense of an Interconnected World: How Innovation Champions Drive Social Innovation in the Not-for-Profit Context

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avondale-bepress-to-dspace.facultyBusiness
avondale-bepress-to-dspace.peer_review_statusPeer reviewed before publication
avondale-bepress.abstract<p>Social innovation is critical for supporting the economic and social fabric of communities globally. Yet little is known about the processes through which social innovation occurs and how context shapes them. To date, scholarship has focused primarily on social entrepreneurs and social enterprise creation, while the role of established not‐for‐profits (NFPs) as agents of social innovation has received surprisingly little attention given their importance to communities. It is expected that innovation will be increasingly important for NFPs as shifts in their funding models create greater complexity in maintaining sustainability and continuity in social service delivery. This research generates a deeper understanding of the processes of social innovation within NFPs by examining how multiple levels of context influence the behaviors of a key set of agents: innovation champions. Adopting an interactionist lens, the study explores how shifts in funding policy at the macro level, and the role of leaders (CEOs and Boards) and organizational institutional logics at the meso level, influence champion behavior at the micro level. To do this, we draw on sensemaking as an important cognitive and action‐enabling mechanism. A qualitative, multicase study design with 46 interviews across six case organizations allows an in‐depth exploration of this under‐investigated area. The findings indicate that bricolage activity can facilitate championing that supports social innovation within NFPs and that organizational context guides the direction and content of champion behavior. The findings further uncover a broader range of behaviors and outcomes than have been previously attributed to champions, while highlighting the critical role that bricolage‐enabled championing can play in driving social innovation that is both directly impactful and offers significant longer‐term social impact. The important roles that sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking play in connecting champions’ interpretations of their contexts to their behaviors are also outlined.</p>
avondale-bepress.articleid1022
avondale-bepress.authorsCourtney Molloy
avondale-bepress.authorsSarah Bankins
avondale-bepress.authorsAnton Kriz
avondale-bepress.authorsLisa Barnes
avondale-bepress.context-key19415336
avondale-bepress.coverpage-urlhttps://research.avondale.edu.au/bit_papers/21
avondale-bepress.document-typearticle
avondale-bepress.field.author_faculty_disciplineBusiness
avondale-bepress.field.custom_citation<p>Molloy, C., Bankins, S., Kriz, A., & Barnes, L. (2020). Making sense of an interconnected world: How innovation champions drive social innovation in the not-for-profit context. <em>Journal of Product Innovation Management, 37</em>(4), 274-296. doi:10.1111/jpim.12527</p>
avondale-bepress.field.doihttps://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12527
avondale-bepress.field.email_boxtrue
avondale-bepress.field.embargo_date2022-09-15T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.field_of_education08 Management and Commerce
avondale-bepress.field.for150303 Corporate Governance and Stakeholder Engagement
avondale-bepress.field.issn0737-6782
avondale-bepress.field.issue_number4
avondale-bepress.field.journalThe Journal of Product Innovation Management
avondale-bepress.field.page_numbers274-296
avondale-bepress.field.peer_reviewBefore publication
avondale-bepress.field.publication_date2020-05-08T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.reportable_itemsC1
avondale-bepress.field.research_centreChristian Education Research Centre
avondale-bepress.field.source_fulltext_urlhttps://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12527
avondale-bepress.field.staff_classificationPermanent
avondale-bepress.field.volume_number37
avondale-bepress.keywordsSocial Innovation
avondale-bepress.keywordsNot-for-profit sector
avondale-bepress.label21
avondale-bepress.publication-date2020-05-08T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.publication-titleBusiness Papers and Journal Articles
avondale-bepress.statepublished
avondale-bepress.submission-date2020-09-15T17:57:40Z
avondale-bepress.submission-pathbit_papers/21
avondale-bepress.titleMaking Sense of an Interconnected World: How Innovation Champions Drive Social Innovation in the Not-for-Profit Context
avondale-bepress.typearticle
dc.contributor.authorBarnes, Lisa
dc.contributor.authorKriz, Anton
dc.contributor.authorBankins, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorMolloy, Courtney
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-01T00:30:42Z
dc.date.available2023-11-01T00:30:42Z
dc.date.issued2020-05-08
dc.date.submitted2020-09-15T17:57:40Z
dc.description.abstract<p>Social innovation is critical for supporting the economic and social fabric of communities globally. Yet little is known about the processes through which social innovation occurs and how context shapes them. To date, scholarship has focused primarily on social entrepreneurs and social enterprise creation, while the role of established not‐for‐profits (NFPs) as agents of social innovation has received surprisingly little attention given their importance to communities. It is expected that innovation will be increasingly important for NFPs as shifts in their funding models create greater complexity in maintaining sustainability and continuity in social service delivery. This research generates a deeper understanding of the processes of social innovation within NFPs by examining how multiple levels of context influence the behaviors of a key set of agents: innovation champions. Adopting an interactionist lens, the study explores how shifts in funding policy at the macro level, and the role of leaders (CEOs and Boards) and organizational institutional logics at the meso level, influence champion behavior at the micro level. To do this, we draw on sensemaking as an important cognitive and action‐enabling mechanism. A qualitative, multicase study design with 46 interviews across six case organizations allows an in‐depth exploration of this under‐investigated area. The findings indicate that bricolage activity can facilitate championing that supports social innovation within NFPs and that organizational context guides the direction and content of champion behavior. The findings further uncover a broader range of behaviors and outcomes than have been previously attributed to champions, while highlighting the critical role that bricolage‐enabled championing can play in driving social innovation that is both directly impactful and offers significant longer‐term social impact. The important roles that sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking play in connecting champions’ interpretations of their contexts to their behaviors are also outlined.</p>
dc.description.versionBefore publication
dc.identifier.citation<p>Molloy, C., Bankins, S., Kriz, A., & Barnes, L. (2020). Making sense of an interconnected world: How innovation champions drive social innovation in the not-for-profit context. <em>Journal of Product Innovation Management, 37</em>(4), 274-296. doi:10.1111/jpim.12527</p>
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12527
dc.identifier.issn0737-6782
dc.identifier.urihttps://research.avondale.edu.au/handle/123456789/19415336
dc.language.isoen_us
dc.subjectSocial Innovation
dc.subjectNot-for-profit sector
dc.titleMaking Sense of an Interconnected World: How Innovation Champions Drive Social Innovation in the Not-for-Profit Context
dc.typeJournal Article
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