Processes, practices and structures beneficial for fostering innovation within organizations

The research is not complete, but preliminary findings from the studies suggest that intrinsic motivation (motivated by the activity itself) is crucial for creativity and innovative work behavior. This in itself is not novel, since many previous studies have also shown the link between intrinsic motivation and creativity. However the contexts of my studies are unique and in this way they provide a new angle on the importance of intrinsic motivation in creativity and innovation. In addition, the research shows that another form of autonomous motivation called identified regulation (identifying with the value/importance/meaning of an activity because it aligns with one's goals) can also lead to creativity and innovative behavior. Finally, the research makes a unique contribution by investigating other elements that can undermine or bolster the relationships between multiple forms of motivation and some of the contextual factors that can affect motivation, creativity, and innovation. This is valuable information for both academics and practitioners; it provides a nuanced view of the relationship between motivation, creativity, and innovation, including insight into the forms of motivation that primarily affect creativity in the workplace and innovative work behavior, and it gives meaningful information about other factors such as rewards, company climate, and person-organizational fit that contribute to strengthening or weakening autonomous forms of motivation.

As an industry funded PhD student with Yara International, I aspire to research innovation in business management and strategy. My research will view innovation from an organizations perspective with potential focus on the following topics: motivation and incentives for innovation, open innovation and its application and effects, cognition/learning processes within innovation, absorptive capacity of an organization for innovation, and the historical consequences of innovation culture. By building on the t heories of academicians such as E. A. Locke, W.M. Cohen, D. Levinthal, and H. Chesbrough, my research will contribute to a deeper understanding of organizational mechanisms and innovation processes. Research methods used will likely include quantitative a nd qualitative methods consisting of statistics, ethnographies, case and comparative studies, and simulations in order to form a comprehensive basis for innovation and its implications; this will combine to improve the field of organizational and innovati on research as a whole.