Zoekresultaten

Future probing

Digital technologies permeate and transform organisational practices. As a society, we need means to explore the uncharted terrain that lies ahead and the desirability and consequences of possible courses of action to move forward. We investigate a design approach, called ‘future probing’, to envision and critically analyse possible futures around digital technologies. We first reconstruct our journey and describe related insights on the process, content and context level. Reflecting on the journey, we then extract a key insight revolving around the challenge for participants to link back from exploring the future to their present practice. In a first attempt at theorizing these difficulties, we see future probing as a practice that opens up adaptive space (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017) in which people from different backgrounds engage in dialogue about possible futures of digital technologies. We found that adaptive processes, like semi structuring, temporary decentralisation, and collaboration (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2018) were supported by the future probing practices and seemed to create space for employees to engage in exploration. There was still a lack of compelling acts of brokering and network cohesion (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2018). This may indicate why linking back to daily practice is challenging. We assume that organising for adaptability requires a deliberate act of connecting far future explorations with present action, and propose that besides explorative skills, ‘adaptive anticipating’ action is needed to make the connection and that linking back through near future experiments might be a way to achieve this.

De impact van het generatiepact

Duurzaam financieel management

In deze rede willen we helder krijgen welke ontwikkelingen in het bedrijfsleven van invloed zijn op ondernemingen en het financieel management van deze ondernemingen. Met name het streven naar een circulaire economie wordt als een ontwikkeling van betekenis gezien.

Overcoming the Valley of Death

In large organizations, innovation activities often take place in separate departments, centers, or studios. These departments aim to produce prototypes of solutions to the problems of operational business owners. However, too often these concepts remain in the prototype stage: they are never implemented and fall into what is popularly termed the Valley of Death. A design approach to innovation is presented as a solution to the problem. However, practice shows that teams that use design nevertheless encounter implementation challenges due to the larger infrastructure of the organization they are part of. This research aims to explore which organizational factors contribute to the Valley of Death during design innovation. An embedded multiple case study at a large heritage airline is applied. Four projects are analyzed to identify implementation challenges. A thematic data analysis reveals organizational design, departmental silos, and dissimilar innovation strategies contribute to the formation of, and encounters with, the Valley of Death. Arising resource-assignment challenges that result from these factors are also identified. Materialization, user-centeredness, and holistic problem framing are identified as design practices that mitigate encounters with the Valley of Death, thus leading to projects being fully realized. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmj.12052 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/

The role of the visionary innovator in moving towards innovative organisations

The urgency to innovate for organisational survival has become increasingly recognized, with the result that innovation has conquered a position high on the management agenda. However, the unfamiliarity around innovation pose a challenge for innovation management. No unique solution exists to building a successful innovation approach, such that firms are forced to experiment with innovation approaches. In analysing the innovation approaches of four large international organisations we find that these organisations share an essential common element: the presence of one or more ‘visionary innovators’ who are determined to lead a movement towards organisational change. We present a theoretical framework to illustrate four core characteristics of a visionary innovator, based on empirical evidence. The visionary innovators possesses traits to discover and realise innovations, business and political know-how, the ability to create and share a vision and space to realise that vision. We propose that a visionary innovator determined to spread such a mindset is indispensable to successfully achieve innovation. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/

Teaching Data Driven Facility Management by implementing high-end technology within the workplace: The Hague University of Applied Sciences as Case

ackground and aim – Driven by new technologies and societal challenges, futureproof facility managers must enable sustainable housing by combining bricks and bytes into future-proof business support and workplace concepts. The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) acknowledges the urgency of educating students about this new reality. As part of a large-scale two-year study into sustainable business operations, a living lab has been created as a creative space on the campus of THUAS where (novel) business activities and future-proof workplace concepts are tested. The aim is to gain a better understanding amongst students, lecturers, and the university housing department of bricks, bytes, behavior, and business support. Results – Based on different focal points the outcomes of this research present guidelines for facility managers how data-driven facility management creates value and a better understanding of sustainable business operations. In addition, this practice based research presents how higher education in terms of taking the next step in creating digitized skilled facility professionals can add value to their curriculum. Practical or social implications – The facility management profession has an important role to play in the mitigation of sustainable and digitized business operations. However, implementing high-end technology within the workplace can help to create a sustainable work environment and better use of the workplace. These developments will result in a better understanding of sustainable business operations and future-proof capabilities. A living lab is the opportunity to teach students to work with big data and provides a playground for them to test their circular workplace, business support designs, and smart building technologies.