Psychology and Organizational innovation

Abstract As an innovation idea moves from its inception through development and implementation, it is people who push, modify, or drop the innovation (Van de Ven 1986). This chapter is concerned with the ways in which personal attributes interact with activities, experiences, and social contexts to influence the development of innovative ideas over time. The chapter’s primary purpose is to outline an agenda for investigation of the psychology of organizational innovation. Because people, their environments, and their behaviors have bidirectional impacts on one another (Bandura 1977), the discussion encompasses the reciprocal influence between people and innovations, which unfolds over time-that 1s, The author greatly appreciates comments on an earlier draft of this chapter from Kenneth Craik (University of California, Berkeley), andy Van de Ven (University of Minnesota), and numerous colleagues in the Minnesota innovation Research Program, as well as the students in the spring 1987 doctoral seminar on the management of innovation at the University of Minnesota. the ways in which people affect and are affected by the innovation process.