We are (all) the champions: The effect of status in the implementation of innovations

This thesis explores the effects of status in the implementation of innovations in three empirical papers which investigate both the positive and negative impact of status –status of either the project leader, the project group, or the organization. We argue that every project member fulfills the role of champion in their project through their status. By analyzing a unique database of video game development projects compiled from three different sources, we uncover several important effects of status in the creation of innovations. In addition, we study several factors which moderate the relationship between status and innovation performance.

The first two studies focus on the position of social actors in the organizational status hierarchy. While these studies show that status provides several important advantages in the innovation process, they also uncover important negative-side effects of status which are more likely to occur in more innovative settings. The third study reveals that, for the same level of quality, high-status organizations are able to realize more advantages than their low-status counterparts. However, we also show that high-status organizations fail to realize all the potential benefits of their status when they invest in projects of great magnitude.

Together, our studies provide important insights into the effects of status and the dynamics of social hierarchies in the creation of innovations. By gaining a better understanding of the social side of innovations, both researchers and practitioners will be able to form a more complete picture of the social components of organizational competitiveness.