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In today’s innovation-dependent environment, organizations should constantly innovate to survive in the marketplace. However, fixation imposes major constraints on the creativity of employees in organizations. In recent years, experimental laboratory studies have proposed leadership-based methods to overcome fixation. In this study, we propose and test a research method that extends the results of these studies to organizations and demonstrate how this can help uncover new organizational leadership variables promoting creativity that are not usually considered in the literature. We use a set of historical and empirical material to validate the importance of including these criteria when studying “leadership for creativity.”, CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, Vol. 1 No. 2 (2017): Special Issue: "Experiments in an organizational context"

Entretien avec Pascal Le Masson, directeur adjoint du Centre de gestion scientifique de Mines ParisTech; National audience; La chaire Théorie et méthodes de la conception innovante, c'est une trentaine de chercheurs à Mines ParisTech – PSL Research University, un réseau international de partenaires scientifiques, et 11 mécènes industriels, dont un collège de PME. C'est aussi l'International Workshop on Design Theory, un groupe de travail créé il y a dix ans et qui constitue un réseau de plus de 300 chercheurs à travers le monde. Ce sont des méthodes aujourd'hui largement déployées dans le monde industriel, ayant contribué à des succès majeurs. C'est, surtout, une percée théorique, la théorie C-K, qui a révolutionné notre façon d'aborder la conception.

Organisations trying to innovate, despite being naturally encouraged to use project management and associated rational theories of choice, will necessarily experiment in some way or another due to the high levels of uncertainty and the unknown to be discovered. Exploratory project management may face situations requiring a constant reconfiguration of beliefs and hypotheses as a reaction to external factors. In this paper, we propose to discuss the existence of a generative rationality breaking away from classical decision theory by deliberately reversing preferences and designing decisions., CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, Vol. 1 No. 2 (2017): Special Issue: "Experiments in an organizational context"

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience; The objective of this paper is to elucidate an organizational process for the design of generic technologies (GTs). While recognizing the success of GTs, the literature on innovation management generally describes their design according to evolutionary strategies featuring multiple and uncertain trials, resulting in the discovery of common features among multiple applications. This random walk depends on multiple market and technological uncertainties that are considered exogenous: as smart as he can be, the ‘gambler’ must play in a given probability space. However, what happens when the innovator is not a gambler but a designer, i.e., when the actor is able to establish new links between previously independent emerging markets and technologies? Formally speaking, the actor designs a new probability space. Building on a case study of two technological development programmes at the French Center for Atomic Energy, we present cases of GTs that correspond to this logic of designing the probability space, i.e. the logic of intentionally designing common features that bridge the gap between a priori heterogeneous applications and technologies. This study provides another example showing that the usualtrial-and-learning strategy is not the only strategy to design GTs and that these technologies can be designed by intentionally building new interdependences between markets and technologies. Our main result is that building these interdependences requires organizational patterns that correspond to a ‘design of exploration’ phase in which multiple technology suppliers and application providers are involved in designing both the probability space itself and the instruments to explore and benefit from this new space.

International audience; This article studies how a large firm uses Design Thinking (DT) as a core process in specific design and development team whose mission is to bridge the gap between unidentified market needs and business units research & development effort. We analyse two cases where new concepts were developed and promoted to business units for implementation by following DT methodology. Our study shows that the DT routine reveals some generative power to explore the user perspective, yet it appears uncontrolled when it comes to generate a wider variety of ideas and knowledge challenging the design ecosystem ontology omitted and made invariant through user-focus hence it faces difficulties to engage with stakeholders and other organisational routines for an enhanced creativity and organisational change.

International audience; In this paper we propose to revisit two emblematic projects, Manhattan and Polaris, with the models developed by design theory. In particular we demonstrate, relying on C/K theory, how these major projects, traditionally presented as radical innovations, are in fact quite different. In particular we show that the structure of the knowledge base (splitting or non-splitting) has major consequences. This explains the different managerial strategies of this two cases : whereas Polaris focuses on the control of the design process, Manhattan exhibit a very original strategy, characterized by the simultaneous exploration of different solutions, to manage unforeseeable uncertainties. We discuss the implications of this result for design theory and project management.

International audience; Making use of the modern design theories like C-K theory, we propose, in this paper to develop a theoretical framework that permit to understand thoroughly the design activities presently carried by digital/physical toolkits. Then, we apply it on two sets of design tools embedded in the ADIDAS One running shoes and the EMOTIO software. Relying on the findings, we consider managerial implications for firms attempting to integrate digital/physical toolkits into their products at low risk.

International audience; The challenges of managing radical innovation in hypercompetitive environments require a critical re-evaluation of R&D practices. Among these R&D practices, the management of technical staff (i.e. researchers, scientists and engineers) is increasingly crucial for science-based organizations. Indeed, a key challenge is to be able to anticipate and to accelerate the renewal of knowledge, competencies and expertise in a context of uncertain dominant design, while controlling resources. Today, the dual ladder system is the main technical staff management system used by the most organizations. Paradoxically, though this management device has been strongly criticized by practitioners and researchers, it is still the same for over 50 years. This paper discusses the relevance of the dual ladder system and its limitations in situation of radical innovation, by using recent advances in design theory. Recent advances in design theory highlight a new way of thinking about innovation far beyond a mere combination of existing knowledge to include the renewal of knowledge and the expansion of expertise. Based on a collaborative management research conducted in one of the European leaders in semiconductor industry, this qualitative research highlights that design theory allows characterizing the role of technical staff according to different modalities of intervention. From a practical perspective, we propose to complete the dual ladder system by a new organizational structure, able to take into account the role of experts and the conditions of technical staff collective action for radical innovation management.

International audience; Leadership and creativity have usually been viewed as antagonist concepts, compromised between two contradictory variables: control and freedom. There is growing evidence that too much leadership control could kill subordinates’ creativity, while in contrary too much freedom could lead them to chaos and disorder. In the past decades, countless researches suggested that in order for creativity to emerge, leaders should grant more freedom and autonomy to their followers. Our hypothesis is that leaders could foster subordinates’ creative ideation capacities by controlling their ideation processes through directive feedbacks. In this study, we explored the influence of directive feedbacks interactively given by a leader at each idea generated by his/her subordinate, throughout a classical creative problem-solving task done online via a distant text conversation. The task consisted of generating as many original solutions as possible that allows that a hen’s egg dropped from a height of ten meters does not break. Results confirmed that leaders’ directive feedbacks were able to drive and guide subordinates’ ideation paths in two distinctive directions, according to leaders’ domain-relevant knowledge and vision for creativity.

International audience; The main question of this paper tries to answers: How to explain FMEA difficulties and how to improve FMEA methodology in order to be able to design a better risk management strategy in NPD? First, this research will discuss the FMEA procedure, its history, its main concepts and its current weakness. Then, we propose to highlight that the limits of FMEA procedure can be linked to the limits of a problem-solving paradigm. We reveal that current vision of engineering design, and particularly FMEA procedure, is based on problem solving perspective, which is restricted by the “bounded-rationality” model. From the concept of “expandable rationality” we propose to revisit the theoretical framework of the FMEA to explain why FMEA cannot be reduced to problem solving. Finally, we argue that FMEA procedure is a full design activity and we propose to extend the initial FMEA methodology, by using CK design theory. The research was carried out in STMicroelectronics manufacturing department, more specifically in the Engineering Competences Center located in Crolles (France).

International audience; The main question of this paper tries to answers: How to explain FMEA difficulties and how to improve FMEA methodology in order to be able to design a better risk management strategy in NPD? First, this research will discuss the FMEA procedure, its history, its main concepts and its current weakness. Then, we propose to highlight that the limits of FMEA procedure can be linked to the limits of a problem-solving paradigm. We reveal that current vision of engineering design, and particularly FMEA procedure, is based on problem solving perspective, which is restricted by the “bounded-rationality” model. From the concept of “expandable rationality” we propose to revisit the theoretical framework of the FMEA to explain why FMEA cannot be reduced to problem solving. Finally, we argue that FMEA procedure is a full design activity and we propose to extend the initial FMEA methodology, by using CK design theory. The research was carried out in STMicroelectronics manufacturing department, more specifically in the Engineering Competences Center located in Crolles (France).

International audience; Présentation des travaux d'Armand Hatchuel et Benoit Weil sur les théories de la conception - position de ces travaux pionniers par rapport à l'état de l'art dans les années 90, apports majeurs de la théorie C-K, conséquences et recherches ultérieures.

International audience; Alors que de nombreuses grandes entreprises se dotaient au début du xxe siècle de capacités internes de recherche, le laboratoire mis en place par Fayol avec les deux grandes figures de son « état-major », Charles-Edouard Guillaume et Pierre Chevenard, se distinguait-il et quels étaient les modèles d'organisation des laboratoires ? A l'aide des théories de la conception contemporaines, l'analyse montre que le laboratoire d'Imphy suivait une logique pionnière et très originale de recherche, qualifiée de recherche « conceptive ». Il s'agit d'un modèle de recherche visant à explorer l'inconnu, qui est très éclairant pour les débats contemporains sur les liens entre recherche et innovation.

International audience

International audience; C-K theory has been developed by Armand Hatchuel and Benoit Weil and then by other researchers since 1990s. In this paper we show that its very abstract nature and its high degree of universality actually supported a large variety of industrial applications. We distinguish three types of applications: 1) C-K theory provides a new language, that supports new analysis and descriptive capacity and new teachable individual models of thoughts; 2) C-K theory provides a very general framework to better characterize the validity domain and the performance conditions of existing methods, leading to potential improvement of these methods ; 3) C-K theory is the conceptual model at the root of new design methods that are today largely used in the industry.

International audience; In this paper we contribute to show that innovation theory can today strongly contribute to the (re)foundation of management. Innovation theory is teared apart between the historical optimal-decision-making paradigm and the new perspective on creation. Still contemporary advances in design theory provide an integrated framework that accounts for decision andcreation, their similarities and differences, and enables to introduce a relativity principle, the unknown (or the expected generativity), to account for the continuity from one activity to the other. We show how applying that general framework and that relativity principle can help extend decision-based models (decision under uncertainty, problem solving, combinatorics) and how this extension helps revisit basic managerial notions built on these models (risk management, knowledge management, coordination…). We conclude on some of the perspectives opened by this relativity principle for management.

National audience

International audience; Supplier-buyer exchanges are well addressed in literature except in the case of unknown objects. Sourcing Innovation, i.e. the process of finding external sources of innovation and then bringing those innovations into the firm should transform incoming unknown objects to ascribe them value. Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) have formalised the unknown in supplier-buyer exchanges in many industries for forty years but there is no evidence that they enable that transformation. We then use design theories, i.e. the Technology-Environment framework, to probe TRL through analysing ten cases combining documents analyses and longitudinal studies. We found that TRL avoid fixating on a low mature technology and are not an obstacle at genericity; however they fixate when the buyer waits a certain TRL prior exploring the new technology value. Finally TRL are unable to guide designers towards generativity notably because they embrace a definition of Environment focused on the prototyping method.

International audience

International audience

International audience; This paper focuses on the organization of design processes and the difficulty of simultaneously achieving control and exploration while aiming to achieve radical innovation. After a first generation of works that tended to oppose NPD processes (with controlled convergence and very limited exploration) to Innovation processes (with poorly controlled convergence and random (uncontrolled) exploration, the new generation of works proposed ways to combine control and convergence either through concept shift or through stable architectures. Relying a generic analytical framework (design space / value management) it appears that each model makes restrictive hypotheses (respectively smart leadership or stable architecture) to address two critical questions: Q1. How can one increase the efficiency of exploration? Q2. How can one ensure forms of cumulative convergence? Relying on the ame analytical framework we analyze two cases that explore the unknown in a controlled way and still don't correspond two either of the two models. We show that these two anomalies and the two models actually have two critical features in common: a focus on generative constraint and a logic of cumulative design rules. As a consequence these two features might generic to several processes where teams have to explore the unknown and still have to keep a rigorous control of exploration and convergence.

International audience; Formal theories of design have described design as a quest for the fit between two spaces such as form-context, solution-problem, structure-function and presently Technology-Environment (T-E). On the contrary, existing methods tempt to focus on E; most engineering disciplines serve T; designers are consequently left barehanded to apply formal principles. More specifically a design method should help to overcome design fixations and enable to steer T-E double exploration. First we extend Concept-Knowledge formalism by defining the inverse C-K of a considered C-K, i.e. the knowledge base is put into question to formulate a new initial concept and the initial concept has an assumed logical status to become the new knowledge base concept. In this configuration, one C-K can benefit from expansions of the other. Second a method is deduced by applying this principle to the T-E framework: designers should steer their exploration by drawing simultaneously T C-K and E C-K. Four empirical cases are analysed. The results suggest that the method enables to identify a maximum of fits before converging on one when used from the start or can provide defixating knowledge expansions when not.

International audience

International audience; Sketching constitutes an essential work tool for designers. On the first hand, sketches allow to externalize ideas, being then very economic cognitively. If they help to process information very quickly, sketches are also an integral part of the thinking process, without which the designer would not be able to access originality and novelty: in particular, the fact that some sketches bring new insights to the designer seems to play an important role for the emergence of ideas. Our research project aims to clarify how architects use sketches to reach generative effects by analyzing their design strategies and the way their drawings can support these strategies. We especially focus on the role of knowledge in comparison to concepts. Three sequences of sketches were analyzed thanks to the C-K design theory: two sequences of thinking sketches and one sequence of talking sketches. We show that most drawings refer to both knowledge and concepts. Moreover, our study reveals that architects carry out through sketching an important work of knowledge structuration. Indeed, generative effects often result from the introduction of new knowledge reordering the initial knowledge basis.

International audience; The meaning of a product is the profound psychological and cultural reasons people use the product (Verganti 2013). The original meaning resulting from such design-driven research is often compromised when handed-over during concept generation (Dell'Era et al. 2011). Literature gives three models of interactions between designers and their network, i.e. networkers use their knowledge as filter, provide designers with knowledge, or are willing to restructure their knowledge base. Our research question “What is an effective marker event of radical innovation of meaning in concept generation?” is investigated through a multiple case-study comparing 35 marker events in a single organisation. The analysis confirms that meaning attributes are lost when networkers use their knowledge as filter, but surprisingly actors lose attributes even when they adopt methods to prevent it. We also found four main mechanisms for networkers to proactively hand a new meaning. Where the canonical model of gate meeting prevents hand-over to experts, our model of Generative Gate Meetings performs better. Finally engineers play a key role when they elaborate Technology Pretexts which are instrumental for exploring value propositions integrating new meanings. Lastly, we synthesise managerial implications in a process model of concept generation for radical innovation of meaning. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is unique in investigating technology epiphanies in such a technology-intensive organisation as SAFRAN and drawing significant bridges between functional innovation and design-driven innovation.

International audience; Firms that engage in open innovation (OI) activities seek to leverage on external knowledge to innovate and use the open innovation intermediaries to conduct and structure their collaborative efforts. The access to external knowledge often requires an internal knowledge effort to be able to recognize, assimilate and use external knowledge which imply the organization of absorptive capacity (AC) function. Still, the absorption of isolated ideas in OI initiatives is a major issue. The purpose of this research is to investigate how the OI intermediaries ensure the AC for firms participating in the OI through the process of searching and integrating knowledge created through the innovation process. Through an exploratory case study of an intermediary platform that connects the technical experts throughout the world – IdexLab and its clients, we investigate IdexLab’s capacity to prepare and conduct the AC activity based on “novelty search” algorithms. We find that the OI platform can incorporate function to automatize the AC and facilitate further diffusion of ideas.

International audience; Traditionally perceived as a support of existing or latent imaginaries (Borup et al., 2006) technical objects can also support new imaginaries pre-determined by designers (Verganti, 2013) (Hatchuel, 2013) (Le Masson et al., 2011). This article suggests another approach: to consider technical objects as generative products (Brown et al., 2010) of new imaginaries non previously determined. How to evaluate the creation of new imaginaries? What are the potential advantages for an industrial firm in its innovation strategic management?

International audience; This article investigates portfoliomanagement in double unknown situations. Double unknown refers toa situation in which the level of uncertainty is high and both technology and markets are as-yet-unknown. This situation can be an opportunityfor new discoveries, creation of new performance solutions and giving direction to portfolio structuring. The literature highlights that the double unknown situation is a prerequisite to designinggeneric technologies that are able to address many existing and emerging markets and create value across a broad range of applications. The purpose of this paper is to investigatethe initial phases of generic technology governance and associated portfolio structuring in multi-project firms.We studiedthree empirical contexts of portfolio structuring at the European Semiconductor provider STMicroelectronics. The results demonstrate that 1) portfolio management for generic technologies is highly transversal and comprises creating both modules to address market complementarities and the core element of a technological system – the platform and 2) the design of generic technologies requires "cross-application" managers who are able to supervise the interactions among innovative concepts developed in different business and research groups and who are responsible for structuring and managing technological and marketing exploration portfolios within the organizational structures of a company.

International audience

Following the open innovation paradigm, many technological firms organize idea contests to surface bright ideas for new products, services or business models. This article demonstrates a new form of innovation contest: the generic technology idea contest, which aims to design technological platforms that can enable emerging applications in various business domains and analyzes its features. Drawing on the analysis of a series of innovation contest conducted by STMicroelectronics, the findings indicate that, contrary to usual marketplaces for technology, this new kind of innovation contests do not fundamentally establish commercial relations between seekers and solvers. Indeed, such contest does not allow initially determining incentive mechanisms since the commercial value and the targeted markets are still unknown. The paper demonstrates that in this case the generic technology idea contest creates design communities who are able to collectively explore and develop generic technological platforms of multiple markets. This research exhibits the novel innovation mechanisms that do not follow market-oriented logic but aim to jointly explore and build technological and market value, constitute new exploration teams. The findings clarify the process of technological and market exploration in unknown and propose a suitable organizational form to conduct the associated reasoning.

International audience; Testing Evolutionary Theory of Household Consumption Behavior in the case of Novelty

Patents play an ever-increasing role in the modern economies and are often used as a measure of technology innovativeness. This paper deals with the innovative field exploration where companies are constantly under pressure to generate high quality patents that will ensure future firms growth, their survival and protect their inventions. This work builds on the existing methods of patent modeling that appear to be adapted for disruptive innovation. By drawing on the patentability criteria, their interpretation in the patent model driven by the design theory frameworks like Concept-Knowledge theory, the paper examines the means of applicability of these methods within the high-velocity industries like semiconductors or nanotechnologies. As a result, two processes of patent design are exhibited: 1) technology design that brings to define patent proposals or 2) patent proposals design that add new innovative attributes prior to technology creation. The insights are given on which approach companies have to pursue regarding their problematic.

International audience; Akrich, Callon & Latour's concept of interessement has been broadly used in NPD. A gap in this theoretical stream of research remains in the difference between human actors' commitment and convincement. The first concerns the enrolment of competent allies while the second concerns arousing top managers' approbation. To address this gap, our qualitative research takes place at SAFRAN, a corporate conglomerate of highly specialised companies. We take the focus of non-human actors (NHA) involved in early stages of NPD analysing 28 NHA of 5 different representational media in 4 different contexts. To characterise NHAs we review the literature on artefacts made within NPD and identify two utmost types (A and B). We find that NHAs which match type A artefacts do better at convincing in prospect of an entry gate to development and that NHAs which match type B artefacts do better at committing in the ideation process. The difficulty for managers is that type A or type B artefacts cannot be recognised according to their representational medium. The consequence is a misunderstanding: some NHA which match type B artefacts create no interessement because type A artefacts were expected, introducing the risk of missing an innovation opportunity. However their failure may not be definitive as managers have the ability to switch from convincement logic to commitment logic. This change in interaction is more probable to happen in informal meetings than in distant artefacts review. Some NHA take advantage of their A-B artefact ambiguity, human actors interact with them by alternating logics, inducing richer decisionmaking and ideation. We conclude that if managers were aware of the two types of artefacts they could adapt their attitude accordingly and take better decisions. We suggest that managers favour artefacts presentations in informal meetings to favour switching between convincement and commitment logics and avoid the cognitive trap.

International audience

In this paper we propose to revisit two emblematic projects, Manhattan and Polaris, with the models developed by design theory. In particular we demonstrate, relying on recent advances in design theory, how these major projects, traditionally presented as radical innovations, are in fact quite different. We show that this explains the different managerial strategies of this two cases : whereas Polaris focuses on the control of the design process, Manhattan exhibit a very original strategy, characterized by the simultaneous exploration of different solutions, to manage unforeseeable uncertainties. We therefore hope to demonstrate the fruitfulness of the dialogue between design theory and project management.

The circumstances in which firms operate have moved towards novel and unknown environments, thereby fundamentally modifying the logic of decision making, rendering planning approaches inadequate. The literature highlights that in these situations companies have to adapt more flexible approaches, to incorporate learning and privilege interactions among projects and corresponding environment. Moreover, sector dynamic influences the choice of strategies under high uncertainty. There are sectors "pushed" by technologies or "pulled" by markets. In the situations of double technology and markets unknowns an interesting solution is highlighted: the design of technological platform that is able to address many emerging markets. Yet it is not self-evident when these strategies are advantageous for the firms that are subject of the environmental dynamics and pursuing double unknown. A simulation study is carried out to clarify the contingent criteria in which the exploration of multiple technologies and markets could lead to platform design. The conducted simulation experiment reveals two main contingent variables: the existence of market signals and the "segregative" or "aggregative" nature of technological systems. The study endeavors to provide an improved theoretical understanding of double unknown management and the corresponding strategies.