نوآوری فرایند در سازمان های ارائه دهنده خدمات فن آوری: نقش استراتژی تمایز، استقلال عملیاتی و گرایش ریسک پذیری

This paper examines the effect of differentiation strategy on process innovativeness in technology services organization (TSOs). In addition it examines the direct and moderating effects of two organizational constructs—operational autonomy and risk-taking propensity. Analysis of data from 102 firms in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA indicates that both differentiation strategy and operational autonomy are positively related with process innovativeness, while an organization's risk-taking propensity has no such relationship. In addition, operational autonomy moderates the relationship between differentiation strategy and process innovativeness, while no evidence was found for the moderating effect of risk-taking propensity on this relationship. Further sub-group analysis shows that in TSOs with high levels of operational autonomy, risk-taking propensity has a positive moderating effect on the above relationship. Post hoc analysis also establishes positive links among process innovativeness and firm performance.

In their proposed research agenda for service operations management (SOM), Roth and Menor (2003) provide an “architecture” for service systems that incorporates “strategic design choices” as an important component. The internal relationships between the infrastructural elements of strategic design choices have been examined in a model by Roth et al. (1997), which delineates the linkages between these elements (known as value constellations of practice drivers). The Roth et al. (1997) model suggests that leadership drives “people” as well as “service process”. Further research suggestions for this model include examining the values promoted by the leadership of the service organization, level of employee empowerment and discretion, types of processes used, setting of standards, etc. The authors further suggest that these elements are synergistic and represent strategic complementarities, implying that elements of strategic design choices reinforce each other.

There are several contributions of this study to the service operations management (SOM) area. First, the paper examines the linkages between infrastructural elements such as leadership, people, and processes for service firms. It has been long recognized in the strategy literature that an organization's leadership develops the business strategy for the firm (Berle and Means, 1932; for a brief history, see Grant, 2005). Roth et al. (1997) have proposed that an organization's leadership drives elements of service process. This is a research area that has not yet been extensively explored empirically. Therefore, we empirically test the linkage proposed by Roth et al. (1997), between an organization's leadership (through their choice of a business-level strategy), and service process (with a focus on process innovativeness).