The antecedents of successful and impactful innovation: the case of the Qatar Foundation

Ba Lashwar, Khulood Mohammed Hasan (2021). The antecedents of successful and impactful innovation: the case of the Qatar Foundation. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Innovation is considered an essential element that supports achieving a competitive advantage in a complex business environment. It has been studied extensively in the conventional, for-profit context, where literature has described the need for innovation in various aspects of an organisation to increase the likelihood of business success. However, the study of innovation in a social context with large Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) has been limited, with literature only describing the need for innovation for NPOs to guarantee survival without identifying the actual antecedents and processes that lead to better performance of social innovation. This study positions itself to fill this knowledge gap by identifying the key antecedents of innovation for NPOs and their influence on innovation performance. Using the Resource-Base View (RBV) and the Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), this research will answer the research question: What are the key internal antecedents of innovation within NPOs? How do they influence innovation processes and performance? This study answers the research question using cases of multiple types of innovation, product, management and process innovation, with an exploratory research design. It adopts a comparative case-study and uses a cross-case analysis approach by analysing six innovation projects managed by the Qatar Foundation (QF). The study uses in-depth interviews of 22 participants who are directly involved with innovation projects within the organisation to investigate the influence of the antecedents of innovation on processes and performance.

The findings reveal that the antecedents of innovation which exist within a non-profit organisation such as the Qatar Foundation have a significant impact on the processes followed in managing innovation projects and on innovation performance. Having a clear vison and strategy, adequate resources, a structure and a culture that boosts innovation with motivating and collaborative individuals and a level of flexibility in the policies and procedures can ensure better innovation performance. The findings complement earlier studies and provide a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents influencing innovation processes and performance for NPOs. These findings contribute to theory by showing the applicability of the RBV and DCT in a social context and have practical implications to management and strategists in NPOs by showing how to increase the
prevalence of innovation to best execute the projects. These contributions are captured with a framework that is developed using the existing literature in the field and the findings of the study. Future work should include validating and evaluating the effectiveness of the framework across other QF projects and other NPOs.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):