Encuestas realizadas a los jóvenes de las comunidades Tsachilas

This paragraph describes the relation between the organizational culture of Company X in relation to the Lead User Method and the number of radical innovation that are being realized.

The added value of Lead User Method is that it can save time and money, but there is no guarantee that the Lead User Method will save and money within Company X. Each Lead User Method project is different. In this research it is supposed that an adhocracy dominant culture is the best organizational culture for implementing the Lead User Method, because de Brentani (2001) suggest that this is the only organizational culture where radical innovation take place.

For implementing Lead User Method a critical success factor is commitment from top management. This critical success factor is already mentioned in paragraph 2.3.2, ‘Seven critical success factors in using the Lead User Method’. This means that the department XX (GVA) can’t just implement the Lead User Method. There need to be support from top management, especially because Lead User Method is a very intensive method. A lot of resources and time must be invested.

Out of the group session people said that for some project green light is needed to faster the development of the project, this is in alignment with the theory about the Lead User Method. But again this must be able in the organizational structure. The organizational structure needs to be aligned with the desired organizational culture mix. As already mentioned earlier the organization structure is of scope of this research. This research focuses on the organizational culture, but organization structure needs to be in alignment with the culture, this is a recommendation for future research since this topic is of focus of this research. So again there is an importance for doing more research on the organizational structure.

In the current situation the dominant organizational culture within Company X is hierarchy culture. In our theory this is not positive because the hierarchy culture quadrant is the opposite of the adhocracy culture quadrant. But the positive thing is that in the preferred situation adhocracy culture quadrant is more dominant than the hierarchy culture quadrant. Company X is willing to make an organizational culture change. In our theory it is also supposed that by implementing the Lead User Method the organization, or department will learn to be more adhoc. The theory implies that implementing the Lead User Method has a positive effect on being adhoc. Because when the Lead User Method is implemented the team gets the involvement of the top management and learns to be responsible for there own innovations. When the Lead User Method is implemented, the participants need to through the different stages of the 47

Lead User Method. Through these stages the participants get forced to listen to the outside world. They learn to take responsibility. Top management needs to determine the focus and the scope of the project; ideally a member of top management participates in the Lead User Method team. Within this scope and focus the participant are free to make their own decisions.

An other positive effect of implementing the Lead User Method in relation with stimulating adhocracy it the ‘focus’ aspect. As earlier mentioned, top management needs to determine the focus and scope of the project. Top management describe the area in which the participants can cooperate. Out of the group session and the literature suggestions focus and prioritization where important topics mentioned to make the organizational culture change. Implementing the Lead User Method top management and the participants are forced to bring focus, scope and desired outcomes and results to the project. This happens in the first two stages of the Lead User Method.

As already mentioned using the Lead User Method doesn’t give guarantees of successful outcome. Different project in the past by for example 3M showed huge successes, but this doesn’t give guarantees to Company X. But results from different lead user projects at different companies in different sectors, our theory beliefs that implementing the Lead User Method had a positive effect on the number of successful radical innovations. Figure 20 shows the schematic representation of the relations between the topics, adhoc culture, Lead User Method and the number of radical innovations. In this research it is found that before a company can implement the Lead User Method successfully, the adhocracy culture should be dominant in the organization. When a company has another culture dominant, the Lead User Method will be less valuable. After introducing the Lead User Method it is supposed that the adhocracy culture will increase on the department XX, because the implementation of the Lead User Method pushes people to go to the outside world the members of XX are given free space to develop new concepts, within the strategy of Company X.

Concluding it is concluded that a dominant adhocracy culture increases the value of implementing the Lead User Method and has a positive effect on the number of radical innovations, within Company X.

Figure 20 – Prediction model / Research model / Research theory

Concluding, this chapter five analysed the current and the preferred organisational culture. The meaning of the needed organizational culture change is formulated and actions for initiating cultural change are identified. In the end of this chapter the relation between the organizational culture, Lead User Method and the number of radical innovations are described.

The following and final chapter of this thesis the conclusions and recommendations are described. The conclusions and recommendations are based upon the data analysed in chapter four and five. By each conclusion there will be an associated recommendation. Chapter six also gives an answer to the main research question.