Innovation champions at Saxo Bank: A qualitative study of how innovation champions promote technology-enabled business innovation

Stefan Brylle Geisler

Student thesis: Master thesis

Abstract

In a world where organizations need to stay innovative to survive, a need for innovation champions within organizations has emerged. Using the research design of a holistic single-case study, this thesis qualitatively research how innovation champions in the financial industry promote technology-enabled innovation. Using theories from the fields of innovation, information systems and e-business, a conceptual framework was constructed, which guided the thesis towards unearthing how innovation champions use issue-selling techniques and promotional attributes to promote innovation. Through semi-structured interviews with nine employees at Saxo Bank, the thesis attempts to uncover the innovation-championing process by qualitatively analyzing how the interviewees go about promoting innovation via issue packaging, formal issue selling and informal issue selling, while using their authority, edification and social capital. The findings revealed that innovation champions promote innovation using a variety of issue packaging techniques from which no pattern could be drawn except for the fact that the packaging would often include a strategic framing. Moreover, it was revealed that innovation champions preferred informal issue-selling techniques to formal procedures, and used informal techniques to prepare for formal issue selling. In regards to promotional attributes, it was found that innovation champions would purposefully use their social capital when promoting innovation, and that the attributes of social capital and edification outweighed the authority attribute. Finally, it was found that innovation champions would use all three promotional attributes in combination to promote innovation most efficiently.

EducationsMSc in Business Administration and Information Systems, (Graduate Programme) Final Thesis
LanguageEnglish
Publication date2015
Number of pages80