International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management

A symbolic innovation is one that stands for something else. Here we will explore eight conditions resulting from a bipolar configuration of stakeholder interests, extrinsic benefits, and intrinsic benefits that have different consequences for the decoupling of innovation adoption and of implementation for symbolic innovations. The underlying forces, or generative motors, that drive these processes are quite different with stakeholder interests and extrinsic social, bandwagon effects much more important in adoption and more immediate, intrinsic benefits coming to the fore in implementation. The degree to which these factors converge produces conditions that are more likely to result in innovations that have positive performance impacts.

There has been an increase in the popularity of using social media for commercial purposes, and this is commonly known as consumer-to-consumer (C2C) social commerce (s-commerce). Thailand is among one of the world’s largest C2C s-commerce markets; however, its C2C s-commerce has different characteristics from traditional e-commerce. This study investigated the patterns of various C2C s-commerce business models and purchasing processes being used in Thailand, based on data collection from interviews and direct observations. The findings revealed the patterns of the transaction process, including advertising, searching, negotiation and ordering, payment, and delivery. It also been found that there are six business models in C2C s-commerce: S-retailing, S-specific market, S-preorder, S-auction, S-reverse auction, and S-portal. The activities in C2C s-commerce were presented by using the logical process diagram to show differences in user interaction patterns and business arrangements. A solid understanding of business models and purchasing processes will help sellers to improve process effectiveness, as well as helping buyers reduce the risk when making purchases using C2C s-commerce in Thailand.

While many organizations aim at achieving multiple, sometimes contrasting, goals (such as combining innovation with efficiency), not much is known about what managers can do to create organizational ambidexterity. Theory suggests that organizational ambidexterity requires collaboration with organizations and that, in turn, managers can facilitate collaborative relations. Nevertheless, so far, the link between management, collaboration, and ambidexterity has not been fully investigated. We conducted a qualitative study in a Dutch hospital to map this link. The results show that there is evidence for this link. The main conclusion of this study is that managing collaboration and ambidexterity are processes; organizations switch between innovation and exploitation instead of being ambidextrous all the time, managers have an active role in guiding this process by creating collaboration through four distinct mechanisms (discipline, stretch, trust, and support) and ambidexterity in turn strengthens collaboration through increased interdependency.

This paper explores how geographical diversity of an alliance portfolio benefits resource-based firm innovation. We propose that there are inverted U-shaped relationships between geographical diversity of an alliance portfolio and a firm’s radical and incremental innovation. In addition, resource characteristics and alliance governance structures are considered as important moderators between geographically diverse alliances and innovation. Relevant resources of alliance partners help focal firms to acquire valuable resources from different locations, thus improving organizational capabilities and achieving innovation. Governance structure choices concentrate on opportunism and transaction cost in coordinating resource sharing and recombination activities, which determine focal firms’ cost of knowledge management and then innovation outcome. Our research could advance the literature on alliance portfolio diversity by studying how firms use their alliance portfolio from diverse locations to recombine resources and then to enhance innovation, which remains less explored.

Drawing upon diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory, technology acceptance models (TAMs), social network perspective and resistance literature, the study developed and tested a model, named integrated resistance factor model (IRFM), which integrates four key elements i.e. resistance indicators, support network factors, experience and disposition factors and the integration and accessibility factors. The study investigated if the model applies in a selected technology, namely online project information management systems (OPIMS). The IRFM was tested with partial least square (PLS) techniques and results from the $R^2$ analysis of the whole PLS structural model were significant and the data were coherence with the proposed model $(R^2=0.484)$. These results indicated that user resistance to technology innovation can be predicted using the IRFM.

The rapid development of mobile user interfaces for students’ websites and the constant utilization of such interfaces by students have witnessed a significant upsurge in growth. However, mobile service providers may lack valuable feedback on user satisfaction, particularly for Arabic users, because the sites are designed and implemented without students’ participation. This paper empirically investigates the user satisfaction of a mobile banner system for the University of Ha’il in Saudi Arabia. Users’ satisfaction was evaluated across six scales: overall reactions, screens, terminology and system information, learning, system capabilities, and technical manuals and online help. A quantitative research method was utilized, involving a questionnaire survey of 235 students. We found that female students have significant concerns about user satisfaction. The paper proposes theoretical and practical implications for future work.

Diffusion of innovation is a key challenge for organizations; it brings social change that alters a system's structure and how it operates. Most of the studies in this area have focused on the information and communication technologies sector (ICT). In this paper, we have sought to understand the acceptance and use of wood-based technology in the non-residential construction sector. For this purpose, we conducted a web survey of 28 engineers in Quebec's construction industry. Upon examining the survey results using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theory, we have proposed a conceptual framework specific to the use of wood in non-residential construction and identified the main similarities and differences according to the basic UTAUT model. We have also identified some constraints regarding the use of wood-based technology.

This study examines the concept of intra-organizational links as a way for boundary spanners to bring into the project group the information needed to deal with task uncertainty. Several studies have shown that heterogeneous groups are superior to homogeneous groups when novel or creative solutions need to be developed to deal with tasks characterized by high task uncertainty. For boundary spanners in engineering project groups, it is proposed that cross-departmental technical advice links are another source of the information needed to deal with task uncertainty. An empirical test supports the proposition that for high-performing project groups, boundary-spanning technical advice links may compensate for a lack of internal group heterogeneity and vice versa. This is not the case for low-performing project groups. Implications of these finding are presented, including the direction that the open innovation research stream might take to address the findings of this study.