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Transformation of Organizational Culture and the Effects on Innovative Activities: The Case of Estonian ICT Companies

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Innovation Systems in Small Catching-Up Economies

Part of the book series: Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management ((ITKM,volume 15))

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Abstract

The ICT sector has often been considered to be on the frontline of innovation and this sector has been recognized as strategically significant for economic development. In Estonian context it is newborn sector which has experienced extremely fast development during last two decades. Organizational culture has been considered an important factor that may facilitate or impede innovation activities of organizations. The paper aims to bring out the patterns of transformation of the organizational culture of Estonian ICT organizations, and find connections between the culture and innovation activities of those organizations. The study draws on the case study of three Estonian ICT organizations. The research was designed as a retrospective study: semistructured and focus group interview with CEOs and employees were carried out in the organizations. Our study showed that the companies have passed comparable development phases, they share more or less similar organizational values, and innovativeness is seen as a part of organization’s strategy. No evidence was found to the connection between organizational values and certain types of innovation and it seems that different types of innovation depend mostly on companies’ profiles and not on values.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the Estonian Science Foundation project agreements No. 7018 and No. 8311, and by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research target funding SF0180037s08.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Anne Reino, Triin Kask, Karin Sakowski & Anton Neidre

Authors
  1. Anne Reino
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  2. Triin Kask
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  3. Karin Sakowski
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  4. Anton Neidre
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Reino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, George Washington University, Washington, 20052, District of Columbia, USA

    Elias G. Carayannis

  2. Tartu, 51009, Estonia

    Urmas Varblane

  3. Tartu, 51009, Estonia

    Tõnu Roolaht

Appendix A Examples of the Interview Questions

Appendix A Examples of the Interview Questions

1.1 A.1 Questions for Employees

  1. 1.

    Please describe the development of your company.

    • Which phases of development could you distinguish?

    • Please try to indicate the duration of each phase?

    • Which important events have been the causes of each transformation/movement from one phase to another?

  2. 2.

    Which metaphor would you use to describe each phase?

    • What (or which values were) was considered important during each phase?

    • Which keywords associate with each phase?

  3. 3.

    What is your company like today?

  4. 4.

    How innovative do you consider your company (rated from “1– not at all” to “5 – most innovative”)? Why? Please bring some examples.

Rating scale: “yes,” “rather yes than no,” “rather no,” and “no” was used when employees were asked concrete statements. Statements were for example as follows:

  • Innovativeness is a part of our business strategy.

  • Over time importance of being innovative has grown in our company.

  • There is a positive attitude toward people whose ideas differ significantly from the majorities. Creativeness is considered an important quality of our employees.

  • Our company is very future-minded in its activities.

1.2 A.2 Questions for Managers

  1. 1.

    How innovative do you consider your company? Based on which characteristics? Please describe the particular events in your company’s history that you consider innovative. Next to each event, please point out under what type of innovation it would be categorized: Product innovation, Process innovation, Marketing innovation, or Organizational innovation. Please point out the approximate time of implementation of each innovation/event (spring 2004, summer 2009, etc.).

  2. 2.

    Which of the mentioned innovations/developments have happened gradually over an extended period of time? Which of them have happened suddenly, as a result of some sudden event? Which sudden events have been the causes of such innovations? In what way have such events transformed the essence of product/process/marketing/organizational innovation?

  3. 3.

    Has your company begun to consciously manage innovation and when did this happen? To what extent is innovation a part of your business strategy?

  4. 4.

    Please describe the environment you have designed/created to facilitate innovation in your company. Which changes had to be implemented in the organization to achieve such environment (technology, people, structure, partners, R&D, etc.)?

  5. 5.

    Which factors impede/hinder innovation in your organization? Which factors have a positive impact?

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Reino, A., Kask, T., Sakowski, K., Neidre, A. (2012). Transformation of Organizational Culture and the Effects on Innovative Activities: The Case of Estonian ICT Companies. In: Carayannis, E., Varblane, U., Roolaht, T. (eds) Innovation Systems in Small Catching-Up Economies. Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management, vol 15. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1548-0_10

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