Organizational innovation: verifying a comprehensive model for catalyzing organizational development and change

In a rapidly transforming global marketplace, organizations need to make effective use of organizational innovations in order to remain competitive. Previous research has identified a need for a more comprehensive framework that will aid in better understanding of the mechanisms catalyzing organizational development and change. Steiber and Alänge (Triple Helix 2(9):1–25, 2015) presented such a comprehensive model for organizational innovations based on literature reviews and two empirical studies of the organizational innovations of Total Quality Management, Lean Production, and the Toyota Production System. All of these draw heavily on the experiences of Toyota in Japan and are known for their focus on continuous improvement of quality and efficiency. This paper investigates whether this model can be applied to different categories of organizational innovations developed in different institutional environments. It is therefore tested on the “Google Innovation System” (GIS), developed in California’s Silicon Valley, which is here viewed as a contrasting organizational innovation focused on continual innovation. The model is shown to be applicable to analyze the Google Innovation System organizational innovation. This paper therefore verifies a comprehensive model for the creation, diffusion, and sustaining of organizational innovations. The findings extend current theory on organizational innovations and provide insights for practitioners in innovation-intensive environments.