Leveraging Resistance to Change and the Skunk Works Model of Innovation Articles uri icon

authors

  • FOSFURI, ANDREA
  • RONDE, THOMAS

publication date

  • October 2009

start page

  • 274

end page

  • 289

issue

  • 1

volume

  • 72

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0167-2681

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1879-1751

abstract

  • We study a situation in which an R&D department promotes the introduction of an innovation that results in costly re-adjustments for a production department. In response, the production department tries to resist change by improving the
    existing technology. We show that firms balancing the strengths of the two
    departments perform better. As a negative effect, resistance to change might
    distort the R&D department's effort away from radical innovations. The firm
    can solve this problem by implementing the so-called skunk works model of
    innovation where the R&D department is isolated from the rest of the
    organization. Several implications for managing resistance to change and for the
    optimal design of R&D activities are derived.