The external environment for businesses is constantly evolving, requiring companies to develop adaptive and innovative capabilities to remain competitive. However, the tales of Nokia and Kodak have shown that many companies struggle to keep up with the changing times, and once leaders in their respective industry, they quickly decline in market share or even face bankruptcy. While the reason for such failures is primarily cited as being a lack of innovation, the hesitation of firms to move away from outdated technology has also shown to play a part in their downfall. The reluctance of organizations to undertake the transition to new and superior technology can be explored through the concept of exnovation. Coined by Kimberley (1981), it is defined as the complete removal of an innovation by an organization due to the need to free up resources, excessive demands from the innovation in use, or diminishing incentives for maintaining them. Given the unpredictability and instability of the external environment, including rapid developments in technology, organizations must adopt strategies that enable them to navigate its dynamic nature.
In the project Exnovation in Manufacturing: Revealing the Hidden Agent of Change (Ex-Man), we aim to understand the concept of exnovation and to (1) identify its barriers and facilitators, and (2) examine its implications for performance metrics, including financial and sustainability outcomes. Data will be sourced from the European Manufacturing Survey (EMS), providing valuable insights into manufacturing companies across Europe.
The project is being carried out at the Center for Integrative Innovation Management (C*I2M), embedded within the Department of Business and Management.
Contact: Christoffer Hansen Eichler (cheichler@sam.sdu.dk)
Main supervisor: Martin Kalthaus (mkalth@sam.sdu.dk)
Co-supervisor: Mette Præst Knudsen (mpk@sam.sdu.dk)
Project participants: Pascale Schäkel (pscha@sam.sdu.dk)