Organizing innovation in turbulent orderflow companies: a Hyster-Yale case study
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2023-09-08
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en
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Innovation is necessary for manufacturing organizations to meet customer demand and remain viable. The lift trucks manufacturing company Hyster-Yale is searching for methods to increase its success in the field of innovation and decided that it is necessary to free up capacity for innovation. With structure being one of the key elements that impact innovation, this case study aims to diagnose what the innovation structure of Hyster-Yale currently looks like and redesign the innovation structure of the company. The research was conducted using the Model Innovation and Organizational Structure, abbreviated ‘MIOS’, developed by Lekkerkerk (2012, 2015) and the parameters of De Sitter (De Sitter, 1994). This was followed by a literature review to describe the innovation and organizational structure of the desired situation. Insights into the actual situation of Hyster-Yale have been derived from empirical data, gathered through document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The data led to systematic descriptions of structures by describing the functions of the MIOS and De Sitter’s parameters. The results of the diagnosis of the innovation structure of Hyster-Yale showed which MIOS functions require attention. The functions in question are those that are not formally assigned, inadequately performing, or a combination of both. After comparing the theoretical insights of the desired situation with the actual empirical findings, it can be concluded that a gap is present for Hyster-Yale’s innovation structure. To fill this gap, opportunities for organizing innovation by redesigning the structure of Hyster-Yale are presented. The focus of these recommendations is on formalizing and improving the performance of some of the MIOS-functions. Acting on these recommendations should lead to Hyster-Yale being better able to face the competition, as well as being able to better respond to increasing customer expectations for more innovative solutions.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen