The Relationship between Organizational Structure and Innovation in SMEs during a Crisis

Jonathan D Jensen; Rahul Anand; Lars Frederiksen

The Relationship between Organizational Structure and Innovation in SMEs during a Crisis

Jonathan D Jensen, Rahul Anand, Lars Frederiksen

Department of Management

Research output: Contribution to conference › Conference abstract for conference › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Our paper contributes to the debate on organizational design and strategy in a crisis by addressing two key research questions: (1) how SMEs should organize internally and (2) why SMEs differ in their strategic response during a crisis. Prior work suggests that innovation is invaluable in a crisis, yet we know very little about the conditions that lead some firms to innovate and not others. We argue that more hierarchy and centralized decision-making positively affect the choice of SME managers to innovate. While hierarchy frees up resources to identify opportunities, centralization allows managers to coordinate the shared information and situational awareness needed to exploit them. We combine secondary data obtained from Statistics Denmark with a survey of SMEs during Covid-19 to examine our hypotheses.

Original language	English
Publication date	Sept 2022
Publication status	Published - Sept 2022
Event	Strategic Management Society Annual Conference: Innovative Strategies for an Open World - London, United Kingdom Duration: 17 Sept 2022 → 20 Sept 2022 Conference number: 42 https://www.strategicmanagement.net/london/overview/overview

Conference

Conference	Strategic Management Society Annual Conference
Number	42
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	London
Period	17/09/2022 → 20/09/2022
Internet address	https://www.strategicmanagement.net/london/overview/overview

Cite this

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title = "The Relationship between Organizational Structure and Innovation in SMEs during a Crisis",

abstract = "Our paper contributes to the debate on organizational design and strategy in a crisis by addressing two key research questions: (1) how SMEs should organize internally and (2) why SMEs differ in their strategic response during a crisis. Prior work suggests that innovation is invaluable in a crisis, yet we know very little about the conditions that lead some firms to innovate and not others. We argue that more hierarchy and centralized decision-making positively affect the choice of SME managers to innovate. While hierarchy frees up resources to identify opportunities, centralization allows managers to coordinate the shared information and situational awareness needed to exploit them. We combine secondary data obtained from Statistics Denmark with a survey of SMEs during Covid-19 to examine our hypotheses.",

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T1 - The Relationship between Organizational Structure and Innovation in SMEs during a Crisis

AU - Jensen, Jonathan D

AU - Anand, Rahul

AU - Frederiksen, Lars

N1 - Conference code: 42

PY - 2022/9

Y1 - 2022/9

N2 - Our paper contributes to the debate on organizational design and strategy in a crisis by addressing two key research questions: (1) how SMEs should organize internally and (2) why SMEs differ in their strategic response during a crisis. Prior work suggests that innovation is invaluable in a crisis, yet we know very little about the conditions that lead some firms to innovate and not others. We argue that more hierarchy and centralized decision-making positively affect the choice of SME managers to innovate. While hierarchy frees up resources to identify opportunities, centralization allows managers to coordinate the shared information and situational awareness needed to exploit them. We combine secondary data obtained from Statistics Denmark with a survey of SMEs during Covid-19 to examine our hypotheses.

AB - Our paper contributes to the debate on organizational design and strategy in a crisis by addressing two key research questions: (1) how SMEs should organize internally and (2) why SMEs differ in their strategic response during a crisis. Prior work suggests that innovation is invaluable in a crisis, yet we know very little about the conditions that lead some firms to innovate and not others. We argue that more hierarchy and centralized decision-making positively affect the choice of SME managers to innovate. While hierarchy frees up resources to identify opportunities, centralization allows managers to coordinate the shared information and situational awareness needed to exploit them. We combine secondary data obtained from Statistics Denmark with a survey of SMEs during Covid-19 to examine our hypotheses.

M3 - Conference abstract for conference

T2 - Strategic Management Society Annual Conference

Y2 - 17 September 2022 through 20 September 2022

ER -