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Kendall Dissertation 030816 Final.pdf (4.14 MB)

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A Theory of Micro-Level Dynamic Capabilities: How Technology Leaders Innovate with Human Connection

Kendall, Lori D
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0315-6698
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457980348

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
High-technology firms struggle to remain relevant in the relentless challenge to innovate in today's high-velocity dynamic markets. One of the most difficult challenges is knowing how to walk the fine line between disruptive or explorative innovations and incremental or exploitative innovations. Leaders struggle with how to switch from one set of innovation disciplines to the other, for example, going from "doing the right things" as a dynamic and entrepreneurial framework focused on disruption---which leverages outlier or inimitable knowledge or assets---to "doing things right," with an entirely different framework motivating technical efficiency. Most of the academic literature focuses on innovation management at the firm level and corresponding process frameworks. Far less attention is paid to how individual technology leaders use managerial capabilities to successfully deliver innovation through the firm's dynamic capabilities framework. The dissertation covers the motivation, detailed research questions, methods, research design, and key findings around this theme of leadership behaviors that contribute to innovation. We also review the implications of the findings for academia and practice. Our research inquiry follows a sequential exploratory mixed-methods research design that combines qualitative and quantitative inquiry. Using a grounded theory approach, the study conducts semi-structured ethnographic interviews among a theoretical sample comparing high-technology firms at key inflection points of growth, decline, and recovery. Based on the findings, a theoretical model is elaborated based on leadership factors underpinning dynamic capabilities. Two quantitative studies from surveys of R and D leaders and their multi-raters from individual companies are analyzed using structural equation modeling (PLS). Triangulation of all three studies finds that an innovation leader's capacity to influence strategic change through the use of managerial dynamic capabilities is underpinned by emotional intelligence competencies. Triangulation also finds that an organization’s relational climate plays a major factor in the organization’s dynamic capabilities and potential for innovation. This study contributes to strategic management theory and organizational leadership theory in three ways. First, this research is the first significant academic work that focuses on how leaders shape the firm’s dynamic capabilities for innovation through micro-level dynamic capabilities. Second, this study identifies the core elements of micro-level dynamic capabilities and proposes how these elements work together to influence dynamic capabilities. Third, this research shows that leaders support dynamic capabilities through contextual ambidexterity. Overall, this research makes novel theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions to theories of innovation and strategy through the elaboration of micro-level dynamic capabilities.
Richard Boyatzis (Committee Chair)
Diana Bilimoria (Committee Member)
Christopher Laszlo (Committee Member)
Kalle Lyytinen (Committee Member)
292 p.
Business Administration; Management
dynamic capabilities; contextual ambidexterity; microfoundations; innovation; competitive advantage; entrepreneurship; emotional intelligence; relational climate; voice challenge; organizational learning; resilience; micro-level dynamic capabilities

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kendall, L. D. (2016). A Theory of Micro-Level Dynamic Capabilities: How Technology Leaders Innovate with Human Connection [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457980348

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kendall, Lori. A Theory of Micro-Level Dynamic Capabilities: How Technology Leaders Innovate with Human Connection. 2016. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457980348.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kendall, Lori. "A Theory of Micro-Level Dynamic Capabilities: How Technology Leaders Innovate with Human Connection." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457980348

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1457980348
1,182
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.