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Call for papers

The Continuous Innovation Network (CINet) is a global network set up to bring together researchers and practitioners working in the field of Continuous Innovation and related areas of research and practice. The mission of CINet is to progressively become a school of thought on Continuous Innovation. Consistent with this mission, CINet organizes an annual conference. This announcement concerns the 25th CINet conference, which will take place in Hamburg, Germany,  hosted by the School of Management Sciences and Technology of the Hamburg University of Technology on 15-17 September, 2024.

Theme

The 25th Continuous Innovation Network (CINet) conference embraces the pivotal theme of "Organizing for Collaborative Innovation", highlighting a significant shift towards collective efforts in innovation practices. The meeting aims to explore and discuss the integration of collaborative innovation within organizations, moving past traditional hierarchical models to adopt more inclusive and participatory approaches.

This shift towards collaborative innovation is primarily driven by three key developments. First, the emergence and extensive use of digital technologies and tools have enabled the transition from centralized processes to more collaborative and inclusive innovation practices. Digital platforms such as collaborative idea management systems, prediction markets, and internal crowdsourcing tools are pivotal in this transformation, fostering a more democratic and accessible process for idea generation, evaluation, and implementation within organizations.

Second, the increasing adoption of remote work strategies has significantly influenced the landscape of innovation. It allows for the decentralization of the innovation process, enabling collaboration and ideation to flourish across and even independently of geographical constraints. This remote work dynamic broadens the pool of contributions, encompassing a diverse range of perspectives and areas of expertise.

The third driving force is the nature of the complex 'grand challenges' we face today. These multifaceted and global issues necessitate a collaborative approach to problem-solving. Collaborative innovation, inherently versatile and inclusive, is ideally suited to address these challenges by leveraging a wide array of insights and expertise.

However, while collaborative innovation offers numerous advantages such as enhanced diversity of perspectives, democratized participation in the innovation process, and effective division of work, it also presents challenges. These include maintaining commitment and accountability, ensuring equitable reward distribution, managing the risk inevitably associated with increased openness, and effectively integrating innovations into operational and production processes.

"Organizing for Collaborative Innovation" is more than just a theme; it's a call to action. It invites participants to immerse themselves in understanding the strategies, structures, and cultures necessary for fostering effective collaborative environments. The conference will serve as a platform for academics and practitioners to exchange insights, experiences, and challenges in organizing innovation collaboratively. It aims to shape a future where innovation is not just an individual pursuit but a shared responsibility and opportunity, harnessing collective intelligence to create solutions that are both innovative and sustainable.

Session tracks

The 25th CINet Conference invites rigorous research-based papers and research notes as well as practitioner presentations aimed at developing theory and/or practical recommendations related to the conference theme, “Organizing for Collaborative Innovation”, including:

  • Strategies for Fostering Collaborative Innovation in Organizations: Exploring how to effectively structure and manage teams for, while identifying and addressing common challenges and obstacles to, enhanced collaborative innovation.
  • Collaborative Innovation and Digital Transformation: Understanding the role of digital technologies in facilitating collaboration across different innovation ecosystems.
  • Cross-Sectorial Collaborations for Innovation: Examining successful models of collaboration between different industries and sectors to drive innovation, including public-private partnerships and global networks.
  • Building a Culture of Collaborative Innovation: Insights into cultivating a work environment that encourages collaborative thinking and innovative approaches, including organizational and team diversity and inclusivity.
  • Measuring the Impact of Collaborative Innovation: Approaches to assess the outcomes and benefits of collaborative innovation initiatives within organizations.
  • Ethical Considerations in Collaborative Innovation: Addressing the ethical challenges and responsibilities in collaborative innovation processes.
  • Sustainable Practices in Collaborative Innovation: Integrating sustainability into the framework of collaborative innovation processes.
  • Sustainable Innovation and Circular Economy Models: Exploring the integration of circular economy principles in sustainable innovation practices.
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Synergies in Collaborative Innovation: Examining how collaborative innovation can simultaneously address multiple SDGs.
  • The Paradox of Sustainable Development: The tensions in achieving simultaneous social, economic and environmental sustainability
  • Value generation and capture: Business models and business model innovation paving the road towards sustainability.
  • Organizing and governing open approaches for sustainability: open innovation, open foresight, open strategy, ecosystems
  • Risk Management in Collaborative Innovation: Understanding and mitigating risks in collaborative projects, including strategies for risk identification, assessment, and response planning.

In addition, papers addressing a broader set of themes within continuous innovation are welcome. These themes include:

  • Performance management and management control in innovation and innovation networks.
  • Design thinking and continuous innovation.
  • Continuous innovation strategies, practices and performance.
  • Continuous innovation in products, services and operations.
  • Knowledge, learning, and continuous innovation.
  • Organizing for continuous and/or discontinuous innovation.
  • Ambidexterity and tensions in innovation processes.
  • Innovation with external partners. 
  • Management of ideas and creativity.
  • Continuous innovation in public settings.

The format

CINet accepts:

  • “Full papers” of up to 5,000 words – to report research that has been completed.
  • “Research notes” of up to 2,000 words – to propose a research idea, seek research collaboration, present a literature review, describe a research design, or report work-in-progress.
  • Practitioner presentations – primarily focused on sharing and discussing (continuous) innovation practice and experience. 

Ever more journals only accept conference-based articles if they are substantially different and/or a substantial extension from the conference paper they are based on. By accepting shorter full papers, we facilitate the development of your work into journal articles. Furthermore, CINet wants to be a place where not only completed research but also ideas for research or collaboration and different stages of work-in-progress are presented and discussed. The “research notes” support the latter purpose. And, last but not least, CINet want to be the place where theory and practice meet. The submission of ideas for practitioner presentations will be greatly appreciated.

Paper development workshop

While most papers presented at the conference are not ready for publication, many provide a good starting point but require additional work before they are publishable. So, true to its nature, CINet selects a number of papers for possible development into a special issue paper, based on their potential and, then, organizes one or more paper development workshops, in the form of a Teams or Zoom event. In these workshops, which will take place late October or early November 2024, the special issue editors will work together with experienced reviewers, to help the invited authors to develop their paper to publishable standard.

Best paper awards

Every year, CINet selects two award-winning papers: the John Bessant Best Paper Award and the Mariano Corso Best Practical Implications Award, the paper must meet the following criteria.

Special issues

The best papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in a special issue of Creativity and Innovation Management (CIM).

PhD Workshop

PhD students attending the conference can attend the 24th CINet PhD Workshop for free.

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Young Academics Workshop

CIYA will organize their 15th young academics workshop on the Sunday afternoon preceding the conference.

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