Essays on Innovation Generation in Incumbent Firms

This dissertation aims to enhance our understanding of how incumbent firms organize innovation in response to the challenges and opportunities they face. The first paper focuses on understanding all components of the complex innovation ecosystem. In this chapter we synthesize the literature on innovation and provide a critical review of the field. The second paper centers on how firms can succeed in grassroots innovation, thereby harnessing the knowledge and skills of their entire employee base. In this chapter we take an in-depth look at grassroots innovation and its success determinants. The third paper looks at how the inevitable resistance to change affects innovation performance, and how resistance can be turned into a strength. We further explain the relationship between resistance to change and innovation performance by studying the mediating effect of the reaction of concerned employees.