Perceived managerial functions in the front-end phase of innovation
In: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Jg. 9 (2016-04-04), S. 414-432
Online
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Zugriff:
Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore managerial functions and related activities of inexperienced project managers in the front-end of the innovation (FEI) process.Design/methodology/approach– In total, 15 student project managers were interviewed while they were engaged in the front-end phase of their respective eight-month projects. In total, 757 interview transcript segments on their perceptions of managerial functions were categorized based on thematic similarity of content.Findings– Four major managerial functions emerged: providing structural support, coordinating and acting as a link, empowering the team, and encouraging and providing social support. Out of these, traditional task-oriented managerial functions were emphasized.Research limitations/implications– Although limited by the small amount of participants in a university setting, the results suggest that task-oriented managerial functions are dominant even in the FEI for inexperienced project managers. More research is needed to understand the antecedents and consequences of such task-dominance, and whether it persists as more experience is accrued. On the other hand, domain knowledge seemed to play a smaller role than indicated by previous research.Practical implications– Project managers should pay attention to creating structure in the uncertain front-end phase. Swift familiarization with the capabilities and practices of each team member cannot be overemphasized, as otherwise the heterogeneity of the team might become a limitation rather than asset. On the other hand, domain experience of the manager may not be necessary in the FEI.Originality/value– The study addresses the gap in previous research on managerial functions specifically in the FEI. Task-oriented managerial functions emerged as way of novice project managers attempting to deal with the fluctuating contingencies in order to foster innovation.
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Perceived managerial functions in the front-end phase of innovation
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Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | Björklund, Tua ; Rekonen, Satu |
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Zeitschrift: | International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Jg. 9 (2016-04-04), S. 414-432 |
Veröffentlichung: | Emerald, 2016 |
Medientyp: | unknown |
ISSN: | 1753-8378 (print) |
DOI: | 10.1108/ijmpb-03-2015-0024 |
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