This paper reviews and extends recent scholarly and popular literature to provide a broad overview of how information technology (IT) impacts organizational characteristics and outcomes. First, based on a review of the literature, we describe two of the principal performance enhancing benefits of IT: information efficiencies and information synergies, and identify five main organizational outcomes of the application of IT that embody these benefits. We then discuss the role that IT plays in moderating the relationship between organizational characteristics including structure, size, learning, culture, and interorganizational relationships and the most strategic outcomes, organizational efficiency and innovation. Throughout we discuss the limitations and possible negative consequences of the use of

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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have revolutionized the way companies are using information technology in their businesses. ERP was created in an effort to streamline business processes and has proven to be successful in many operations. Unfortunately, not all ERP implementations have met expectations. One way that businesses may be able to increase success rates is to embrace creativity and innovation in their ERP implementations. For businesses to do this, they must first understand how creativity originates and how that creativity can be integrated into business solutions. This article presents a case study that examines the ERP implementation at a public university and analyzes the applicability of the Innovation Strategy Model on public sector organizations. 1.

The paper investigates the effects of collaboration networks on inventive productivity within an industrial research environment. A distinction is made between two kinds of network structures: structural holes offering information brokerage opportunities to individuals and network closures supporting co-specialization of individuals. Hypotheses regarding the effects of network positions on the development of technological know-how are tested based on longitudinal individual-level network data. The analysis provides partial support of both the structural hole and the network closure argument.

This chapter argues that creativity remains an elusive construct because, in action, it entails two distinct, concurrent, yet often opposing processes that embed an individual within their particular social context: bridging and building. On the one hand, creativity requires bridging multiple worlds—recognizing patterns and connections between previously unconnected ideas often across distinct contextual domains (Hargadon, 2002; Weick, 1979). On the other hand, the creative process requires building new patterns of understanding and action within those social groups that serve as arbiters of the creative output (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). Without the initial recognition of new patterns and possibilities, creativity lacks the defining Aha! Without the subsequent changes in understanding and action across larger communities, the creative inspiration passes unnoticed. To explicate these two processes, this chapter uses the perspective and literature of microsociology, which is concerned with how an individual’s social surrounds both constitute and constrain their understandings and actions. 2

papers published so far. The aim of the Series is to bring together research in progress from across the School for publication to a wider audience and to facilitate discussion. Papers are reviewed by senior faculty before acceptance into the Series. The agreement of the authors should be sought before referring to its contents in other publications. This paper is available electronically on the School of Management website:

A field study of 179 employees in an investment technology firm explores the relationship between identity comprehension and individual work outcomes. Identity comprehension is defined as the degree to which the relative importance of one’s identities is recognized by important others. Results show that individuals with higher levels of identity comprehension in work teams are likely to have higher levels of creativity and satisfaction and lower levels of absenteeism.

Innovation has emerged as a ‘hot ’ research topic in the management field. Currently, considerable research effort is being applied to developing better understanding of how it can be effectively developed within organisations. However, recent trends in the literature suggest that there is a lack of convergence of ideas and that the knowledge in the area is still in a relatively ‘untidy’ state. This is despite an excellent foundational literature base. In this paper, the role of research is investigated. An analogous approach is taken whereby some research shortcomings in the area of quality management are examined to demonstrate how similar problems have arisen in the innovation management area, and ways in which researchers in the area can avoid these pitfalls. These, hopefully, will be taken into consideration in future innovation management studies, and will result in increased quality and more credible research findings. Key words: innovation management; quality management; ontology; epistemology; research methodology.

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Scholars and practitioners have long argued that females exhibit a distinctive and particularly effective managerial style. Yet, less than a third of the largest U.S. corporations have a single female senior executive, raising the question of whether women are in fact effective as senior managers, and, if so, under what circumstances. We address this issue by studying the relationship between female participation in senior management and firm performance as measured by Tobin’s Q. We find a positive association between firm performance and female participation below the CEO level, even when controlling for unobservable firm heterogeneity, but no positive effects from having a female CEO. We then show that the positive results for female participation are entirely driven by firms pursuing an “innovation intensive ” strategy, where creativity and collaboration may be especially important. Our findings thus provide evidence for a “female management style ” that enhances firm performance by facilitating teamwork and innovation but is rendered less effective by the leadership attributes of the CEO position. Given these results, the fact that not all firms have women in senior positions also suggests that an ability to identify, attract, and develop female managerial talent may be a source of competitive advantage.