Explaining the innovation dichotomy: the contexts, contents, conflicts, and compromises of innovation stories

Abstract

This study describes the narratives of innovation produced in a knowledge-based company, constructs them into core stories and develops a narrative framework suitable for researching the topic. The research data consisted of thematic interviews with 23 professionals from the Finnish technology company. Innovation stories were convoluted, identifying innovation-framing contexts that were related to ownership, drivers, continuity, decisions and values. Based on these narratives, the study generated the 4Co (context, content, conflict, and compromise) analytical framework suitable for examining narrative data in innovation research. The study also produced an ideal description of innovation as a simultaneously shared and personally meaningful evolutionary learning process that takes place in small steps and requires a balance of necessity and freedom as well as decision-making based on intuition and facts, producing human efficiency as a value for employees and the organisation. Based on the findings, scientific, methodological, and practical discussions are also presented.