Going the extra mile: Managing individual motivation in radical innovation development

Developing radical innovations is highly demanding because of high uncertainties which give rise to unanticipated problems and discoveries. Managing individual motivation is therefore an important component of the radical innovation capability. This study presents a theoretical model of managing individual motivation in radical innovation development. The model is tested and elaborated by investigating four incumbent companies. The findings indicate that managers may influence the initial level of individual motivation and its effect on the success in development tasks by assigning external goals and providing organizational support. These methods can be found at multiple levels: individuals, project teams, and the organization