Catalysts and Barriers to the Adoption of New Innovation Methods

Abstract

Academics have developed a wide range of tools and methods to support innovation and the product development process. Unfortunately, few of these methods and tools have been widely adopted in industry. The current work seeks to identify what catalyzes and blocks the adoption of R&D innovation tools and methods in large organizations. Semi-structured exploratory interviews were conducted at several U.S.-based Fortune 500 companies. Interviewees include executives, managers, and individual contributors. Future work includes interviews with at least two more organizations with at least eight to ten individuals per organization. Initial interviews were transcribed, and open coding sought themes (commonly called categories) containing the catalysts and barriers. Initial findings indicate six themes that catalyze adoption: Confidence in the Method, Characteristics of the Method, Characteristics of the Practitioner, Practitioner Benefits, Leadership, and Organization. Barriers identified include Organization, Characteristics of the Method, Characteristics of the Practitioner, and Practitioner Drawbacks.