Firm innovations from voluntary dyadic engagement with nonprofit organisations: an exploratory UK study

This dissertation presents the findings of an exploratory collective case-study examiningcorporate innovations arising from voluntary dyadic engagement between UK firms andnonprofit organisations (NPOs) focused on social issues.Whilst the extant literature demonstrates that pro-active engagement with NPOs canassist firms innovate, there has been no empirical work which explores the relationshipbetween the engagement and the innovation outcome: a gap which this researchaddresses. In doing so, it illustrates how concepts and constructs from the innovationmanagement literature can be applied usefully to the stakeholder and cross-sectorcollaboration field. To date, empirical studies addressing firm-NPO engagements haveconcentrated overwhelmingly on partnerships to address environmental issues. Thisstudy provides insights into cross-sector engagements focused on addressing socialissues.Using a form of analytic induction to evaluate qualitative case-data from ten dyadicengagements, this dissertation addresses the question: “how do firms innovate throughengagement with social issues nonprofit organisations?” The research found thatproduct and service innovations resulted from engagements where the firm had anexternal stakeholder orientation and was focused on delivering tangible demonstrationsof corporate responsibility. Process innovations, by contrast, were produced fromengagements where firms had an internal stakeholder orientation. Two distinctionswere noted in the innovation process, too. Firstly, a more exploratory approach todyadic engagement activities, which resulted in an emergent innovation process; andsecondly, a focused and pre-determined search activity to exploit the resources of thenonprofit partner which demonstrated a more planned innovation process. In addition,two distinct boundary spanning roles were identified: in dyads with no directmanagement involvement in the engagement, the role was associated with formalresponsibilities from senior management to „manage‟ innovation opportunities andoutcomes. In dyads where senior management were involved, there was no suchformality; the boundary spanner acted to „facilitate‟ search and exploration to locateopportunities for innovation through idea exchange.The application of innovation constructs to the business and society field has enabledfirm engagement with nonprofit stakeholders to be examined through a new lens anddemonstrated how firms innovate from such relationships. In particular it hashighlighted the key role played by the firm boundary spanner (relationship manager)and how this role alters depending on senior management involvement: a distinctionwhich has not been made in the extant literature and would benefit from furtherexamination.