Analytical Framework for Innovation in Hierarchical and Bureaucratic Organizations

Using grounded theory building, a 12-month longitudinal ethnography encompassing 42 individuals, 80 hours of observation, and 60 interviews was conducted to create an analytical framework to reveal interactions between hierarchy, bureaucracy, and innovation. This model presents a nuanced view of both positive and negative effects of bureaucracy and hierarchy on innovative new product development processes and technology adoption within a large, highly structured organization. The research revealed that it was possible for a team to have bureaucratic and hierarchical constraints and characteristics and still achieve innovative ends. Innovation in this context requires a problem critical to the organization to be selected, a solution to be developed, and the solution to be adopted. With this criteria, both hierarchy and bureaucracy impacted new product development processes, to both help and hinder both technology development and technology adoption.