Construction Innovation 2006; 6: 159–172

The role of organizational culture in motivating innovative

behaviour in construction firms
Andreas Hartmann Department of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Twente,
Enschede, The Netherlands

Submitted 14 November 2005; accepted 2 May 2006

Abstract: Motivation is the main force through which individuals allocate effort to generate
and implement innovative ideas. However, employees are only motivated to go beyond their
designated role and get involved in spontaneous and innovative activities if they have a
strong identification with the organization. Organizational culture plays a critical role in
motivating innovative behaviour, as it can create commitment among members of an
organization in terms of believing in innovation as an organizational value and accepting
innovation-related norms prevalent within the organization. The research this paper reports
on addresses the motivational aspects of the relationship between culture and innovation
in construction firms. Specifically, it focuses on those managerial actions through which the
importance of innovation may be communicated and innovation-related behaviour may be
induced and reinforced. An in-depth case study investigating the innovation activities of a
Swiss contractor revealed that project constraints and regional separation may diminish the
motivational effects of managerial actions in construction firms. It is concluded that a culture
that motivates new solutions and innovative improvements in particular first of all prevents
ideas from getting lost in daily business and within the organization. Giving immediate
feedback, providing communication channels for implicit knowledge, allowing for
autonomous work and task identity, initiating innovation projects and using a
comprehensive reward and incentive system are appropriate managerial actions in this
regard.

Key words: commitment; construction firm; innovation; motivation; organizational culture

Introduction

Nowadays the successful implementation of new products, services and processes has
become a critical challenge for construction firms (Gann, 2000). Essential tasks of managing
innovation involve the capitalization and reinforcement of the ability and willingness of an
organization to innovate (Trommsdorf, 1990). Ability refers to the reservoir of physical and
mental resources to be allocated for innovative activities (Erez, 1997), and creativity is seen
to be the key resource in this regard (Wang and Horng, 2002). Willingness, on the other hand,
refers to the forces that energize and regulate the allocation of resources to innovation-related
activities (Erez, 1997). Here motivation is the main force through which individuals allocate
effort to generate and implement new ideas.
Motivation is a multifaceted phenomenon that has attracted the interest of scholars
since the end of the nineteenth century and has resulted in a range of theoretical models

Address for correspondence: Andreas Hartmann, Assistant Professor, Department of Construction Management and
Engineering, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]

© 2006 Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd 10.1191/1471417506ci616oa

160 Andreas Hartmann

(see Steers et al., 1996; Beck, 2004). Although there is no commonly accepted approach,
existing models address more or less those motivational aspects that explain: 1) what drives
individuals to behave in a certain manner, 2) what is the direction and focus of individual’s
behaviour, and 3) what maintains, reinforces or redirects the behaviour (Steers et al., 1996;
Ellemers et al., 2004). Likewise, the main questions construction managers are confronted with
today are: how to encourage employees to invest behavioural energy in innovative activities
and how to sustain this behaviour over time. To find appropriate answers to these questions,
one must take into account that employee behavior that should lead to organizational innova-
tion also has to create a sense of self-worth and well-being (Erez, 1997). Employees are only
motivated to go beyond their designated role and get involved in spontaneous and innovative
activities if they experience this behaviour as being personally satisfying (Locke and Latham,
1990). As individuals use values of their social environment (beside personal values) to eval-
uate whether their sense of self-worth and well-being have been satisfied (Erez, 1997), orga-
nizational culture seems to play a critical role in developing and maintaining involvement in
and dedication to innovation (Meglino et al., 1989; O’Reilly, 1989).
Although it is acknowledged that organizational culture influences innovation processes in
construction (Ling, 2003; Blayse and Manley, 2004; Steel and Murray, 2004), only a few
studies have examined this relationship specifically. Tatum (1989) found that innovative firms
in construction continuously strive for improved productivity, questioning everything and all
team members, and seeking competitive advantages to win projects. Egbu et al. (1998) also
found that the four innovative organizations they investigated showed certain culture charac-
teristics including risk tolerance, communication flexibility and willingness to share knowl-
edge. Similarly, Dulaimi et al. (2002) concluded that construction firms should create a ‘no
blame’ culture to stimulate employees to develop and experiment with new ideas.
Notwithstanding the importance that organizational culture seems to possess for construction
innovation, a deeper understanding of how values and norms induce innovative behaviour of
individuals and firms is still lacking. Moreover, the ways of creating a culture that is support-
ive to innovation and the circumstances within which these ways are appropriate remain
vague. The research this paper reports on addresses this somewhat ambiguous link by focus-
ing on the role of organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour of individuals in
construction firms. Specifically, it concentrates on the managerial actions through which
innovation as organizational value may be expressed and individuals may be prompted to
allocate resources for innovative activities. First, the paper briefly explains the concept of cul-
ture, its role in motivating innovation and the mechanisms that managerial actions should
mobilize to foster innovative behaviour. Secondly, it presents findings from a case study that
aimed to elucidate how organizational culture affects the extent to which innovative ideas are
generated and implemented within a medium-sized Swiss contractor. Thirdly, it discusses the
case study results and proposes some actions suitable to develop and reinforce a culture
within construction firms that motivates people to innovate.

Theoretical background

Organizational culture
Despite having aroused much interest since the 1980s, organizational culture has remained a
controversial topic. Particularly the question whether organizational culture can be managed
 Organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour 161

has resulted in opposing views (Ogbonna and Harris, 1998; De Witte and van Muijen, 1999).
Organizational culture is here defined as a pattern of taken-for granted, underlying and
mostly unconscious assumptions, values and beliefs that are shared by members of an organ-
ization (Kotter and Heskett, 1992; Schein, 2004). However, they manifest themselves in
norms and thus may also be observed at a more visible level, in rituals, languages and
actions (O’Reilly and Chatman, 1996; Martins and Terblanche, 2003). Organizational culture
emerges from the interaction and learning of individuals within an organization (Schein,
1990; Jassawalla and Sashittal, 2002). It enables these individuals to understand the function-
ing of the organization (Deshpande and Webster, 1989) and shapes their behaviour and the
character of the organization (Schwartz and Davis, 1981; Boxx et al., 1991).

Motivation through commitment

The role organizational culture plays in facilitating innovation stems from the commitment
that culture can create among members of an organization in terms of believing in innovation
as an organizational value and accepting the innovation-related norms prevalent within the
organization (Figure 1). Committed individuals are willing to exert extra and creative effort
on behalf of the organization, as the organization stands for something they personally value
(Boxx et al., 1991; Erez, 1997). This value appreciation is vital, because values are ‘what
people want or consider beneficial to their welfare’ (Locke, 1991, p. 291) and, thus, guide
their behaviour (Erez, 1997). O’Reilly and Chatman (1986) suggest that creating commit-
ment is a three-stage process involving compliance, identification and internalization. Which
stage of commitment individuals show depends, apart from their individual needs and values,
on the degree to which the organization is able to convey and express to its members what is
important and what constitutes appropriate behaviour (O’Reilly, 1989; Caldwell et al., 1990).

Figure 1 The link between organizational culture and motivation

162 Andreas Hartmann

The influence on individuals by organizational culture acknowledges that individuals ‘are

very susceptible to the informational and normative influence of others’ and ‘pay attention to
the actions of others and learn from them’ (O’Reilly, 1989, p. 19).

Managerial actions to motivate innovative behaviour

In order to generate commitment and motivation to innovation, one has to be, first of all,
aware of those behaviour and attitudes promoting innovation. In innovative organizations
people widely share the expectations that (O’Reilly, 1989; Martins and Terblanche, 2003):
• innovative behaviour is encouraged and supported;
• focusing on the
challenging status quo is part of the job;
• risks are inevitable
the long term ensures the survival of the organization;
• failures are acceptable
and are taken;
• members of the organization
and represent chances for learning;
• information is shared between have the freedom to act, to try new things and to be creative;
• hampered; all levels and units of the organization without being

• people are treated as the most valuable capital of the organization.

Attaining commitment and motivation requires furthermore suitable managerial actions to
induce and reinforce the above norms, and to stress that generating and implementing new
ideas is an expected and prevalent way of behaving within the organization (Figure 1). Four
mechanisms are seen to underlie such actions: communication, recognition, participation and
symbolism (O’Reilly and Chatman, 1996) (Table 1).

Communication. The mechanism of communication relies on the impact of information

exchange between people on an individual’s beliefs. Behaviour and managerial actions should
aim at fostering communication that ensures consistent understanding of what is valued and

Table 1 Managerial actions to mobilize mechanisms inducing commitment and motivation

Mechanisms Communication Recognition Participation Symbolism

Mobilization • Enabling information • Enabling intrinsic • Enabling • Showing

permeability rewards incremental consistent
• Enabling dialogue • Giving extrinsic choices behaviour
rewards • Enabling • Enabling
personal understanding
responsibility of work impact
Managerial • Open work places • Goal setting • Work • Providing
actions • Public spaces • Feedback autonomy time and
• Workshops • Pay raises • Task identity financial
• Hotlines • Fringe benefits • Job enrichment resources
• Information days • Flexible and • Job enlargement • Enforcing the
• Excursions pleasant working • Quality circle realization of new
• Etc. conditions • Suggestion schemes ideas generated
• Etc. • Etc. • Overcoming
volition barriers
• Etc.
 Organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour 163

that minimizes contradictory interpretations within an organization in this regard (O’Reilly

and Chatman, 1996). For motivating innovation, the information permeability of an organi-
zation is seen to be vital (Di Renzo, 2000). The unhampered access to problem-related infor-
mation does not only allow knowledge gaps to be filled but also reduces the psychological
costs of gathering information (Meissner, 1989). Here, information orally and informally
communicated is specifically suited to adhere in someone’s mind and to foster learning and
behaviour changing, as direct dialogues between people can take place (Kobi, 1994; Doppler
and Lauterburg, 2005). Moreover, complexity and uncertainty which is inherent to innovation
might lead to antagonism of interests and distrust. Here dialogues can promote acceptance of
innovative activities and can prevent misunderstandings and prejudices (Boehnisch, 1991).
Managerial actions that particularly support dialogue encompass, for example, the implemen-
tation of workshops, hotlines, information days and excursions and the provision of open
work places and public spaces (Reiss, 1997).

Recognition. Another mechanism which may reinforce the motivational effect of the above
actions is recognition, and giving rewards is the managerial action which recognizes the indi-
vidual’s compliance with innovation-related norms. Intrinsic rewards are provided by the
individuals themselves (eg, feeling of meaningfulness) and arise from ‘appraisals which
individuals make of themselves by comparing their performance to their internal goals and
standards’ (Locke and Latham, 1990, p. 243). Setting goals represents a managerial action
that can particularly affect intrinsically motivated behaviour (Locke and Latham, 1990).
Goals are seen to strongly influence task performance through directing effort toward goal-
relevant activities, energizing and persisting effort to the attainment of particularly high
goals, and leading to knowledge and strategies about how to achieve goals (Locke and
Latham, 2002). Extrinsic rewards are external to an individual and provided by others, for
example, by giving feedback. Feedback is a message that contains information about the
effectiveness of an individual’s performance (Hackman and Oldham, 1980) and allows people
to adjust the level or direction of their effort or to adjust their task performing strategies to
comply with what the job requires (Locke and Latham, 2002). Particularly, where tasks are
innovative, feedback from the supervisor is consciously processed because it becomes the
main source for this adjustment (Taylor et al., 1984; Harackiewicz and Larson, 1986).
Personal values directly determine what is rewarding to individuals and what satisfies them
(Locke, 1991). Individuals receiving rewards for their performed actions that correspond to
their personal wants and values are more satisfied with their job and, thus, are more likely to
engage in extra-role behaviour than those who are dissatisfied (Locke and Latham, 1990).
That is, innovation can be motivated with different types of reward (Lawler, 1987; Meissner,
1989). The motivating effect of rewards such as pay raises, fringe benefits, flexible and pleas-
ant working conditions results not only from their value they possess for an individual but
also from the individual’s expectation that they are granted on similar occasions in the future
(Locke, 1991). Rewards may work as incentives, too.

Participation. Managerial actions based on participation encourage people to make

incremental choices and develop a feeling of personal responsibility (O’Reilly and Chatman,
1996). If people do something due to their own choice, they feel responsible and, thus, more
committed. Work autonomy is an example that can activate participation. It is understood as
the degree of freedom and independence an individual holds in setting goals, finding
164 Andreas Hartmann

strategies for performing tasks and making decisions (Hackman and Oldham, 1980).
A greater autonomy is seen to be supportive to the motivation of innovation, as it allows indi-
viduals to explore unknown areas and to detect and solve problems independently, which in
turn foster work identification and competence development (Meissner, 1989). Another
example is task identity. It is defined as the degree to which the completion of a whole and
identifiable piece of work is required (Hackman and Oldham, 1980). Here, broadening tasks
(job enrichment and job enlargement) enhances the individual’s possibilities to try new things
and to newly combine or develop task-performing strategies but also offers work that allows
individuals to acquire expertise in a certain field, enabling them to interact socially. It is
argued that, as a result, individuals experience their work as more meaningful, valuable and
worthwhile (Hackman and Oldham, 1976; Hill et al., 1994). Besides work design, other man-
agerial actions such as quality circle or suggestion schemes use participation as a mechanism
to motivate innovative behaviour (O’Reilly, 1989).

Symbolism. Symbolism is a final mechanism for promoting innovative behaviour. If the

management sends clear and visible messages about what is important, it ‘may shape inter-
pretations and enhance the intrinsic importance attached to specific attitudes and behaviors’
(O’Reilly and Chatman, 1996, p. 173). More than saying that something is important, these
messages come from consistent behaviour on the part of management. For example, if more
autonomy is granted for innovative activities, time and financial resources that go beyond
what a job requires should be also provided (Martins and Terblanche, 2003). Moreover, inno-
vative activities require persons that help to overcome volition barriers prevalent in organiza-
tions. Here, particularly, the hierarchical potential of management allows new ideas to be
shielded from the forces aiming to preserve the status quo. Thus, the explicit enforcement of
new ideas reveals the relevance of innovative activities and creates an understanding of their
impact. As employees understand that the results of such activities may have crucial conse-
quences on the work of other people or the well-being of an organization, the meaningfulness
that the individuals experience increases (Hackman and Oldham, 1976).

Research design

An in-depth case study was conducted concerning Frutiger AG, a Swiss contractor with
approximately 1500 employees. The work Frutiger offers encompasses building construction,
construction of tunnels, road construction, bridge construction, maintenance of buildings and
special services like deep drilling and demolition work. As typical for contractors of this size,
the organization is subdivided in technical and regional business units. The reason for select-
ing Frutiger AG as a suitable candidate for this research was the continuous growth and busi-
ness success of the firm over the last 140 years, which suggest the capability to renew and
adapt to market changes.
The rationale for choosing a single-case approach was to be able to highlight the different
motivational facets of the relationship between culture and innovation. There is a comprehen-
sive knowledge of organizational culture and a number of propositions has been made on
appropriate managerial actions to motivate innovative behavior (see discussion above).
However, until now little is known about the extent to which these propositions are valid
within the context of construction. A single case is suitable to test the proposition’s relevance
 Organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour 165

(Yin, 1994). It may reveal the circumstances within which culture affects innovation in con-
struction and provide an answer to the question: what are appropriate managerial actions to
communicate the importance of innovation, to induce and reinforce appropriate innovation-
related behaviour, and to gain commitment and motivation to innovation within construction
firms?
Various methods of data gathering were applied to obtain satisfactory answers to the above
question. The intention was that some facets that are insufficiently taken into account by one
method will be included in the examination by applying another method. A document analy-
sis aimed at uncovering those innovation-related norms that are communicated by the firm’s
management. The focus was on finding out what part innovations play as organizational value
within Frutiger. The analysed documents were the firm’s newspaper, the firm’s vision, the
general strategy and the strategies of the departments. All documents were examined for
statements that refer to expectations of the management about innovative behaviour.
Interviews with staff members were intended to give a detailed description of the innovation
processes going on in the company, to find out what norms regarding innovation are actually
shared within the firm or rather what motivates people to generate new ideas. In view of these
aims the survey took the different hierarchies and business areas into consideration. Sixteen
single interviews in two rounds were carried out including one member from the top manage-
ment, three department managers, six project managers and six site managers. Additionally,
regular group discussions with four project managers who did not take part in the interviews
took place in order to reconstruct and validate findings from the interviews and the analysed
documents.

Results

Innovation strategy and organizational culture

Frutiger considers innovations to be important in successfully responding to changes in the
firm’s project environment. In particular, they are meant to contribute to achieving a higher
extent of satisfaction of the client’s demands and to securing the quality of the services
offered. More generally, they are seen to provide the possibility to obtain advantages in com-
petition. Novel changes can affect the whole range of services offered, the operating
processes or the organization of the firm. Being open to changes or rather adapting the firm’s
services, processes and corresponding markets to new conditions is one component of the
firm’s innovation strategy. Innovation processes are mainly initiated when changes in the
environment have occurred or are still occurring. That is, innovations are normally created in
connection with ongoing or upcoming projects. Service innovations arise from acquiring
orders, whereas process innovations appear while offering the service or after the contract is
awarded. Designing variants makes it possible to innovate at the tender phase.
However, most of the interviewees state that there is little preparedness to take risks in con-
nection with new ideas. The main tendency is to implement innovations that have already
proved themselves on the market. The management does not object to innovations, but applies
a strict standard when assessing them. It is of great importance to them that the financial risks
are restricted to a minimum. The precondition for implementing a new idea is a reasonable
balance between financial and time expenditures that have to be made and the usefulness of
the new solution. As second component of its innovation strategy Frutiger typically strives for
166 Andreas Hartmann

innovations that are on the one hand more incremental improvements rather than radical
breakthroughs and on the other hand more mature technologies rather than completely new
developments.
The top management tries to support the execution of its strategy by strongly emphasizing
the necessity to achieve a constant increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of construc-
tion projects. It considers generating and implementing new ideas as a task that every staff
member has to pursue in an active and extensive way, while the quality and professionalism
of the management on all levels is viewed as a precondition for it. That is, the management
primarily values permanent technical and organizational improvements in all business areas
and regards them to be most important for the success of the firm. The way novelties are
looked at and dealt with is rooted in Frutiger’s long tradition as family-owned company with
very strong general values such as confidence, modesty, respectability and the ability to know
one’s limitation. However, the belief of the top management that innovative improvement is
vital does not mean that this value is internalized by firm members of other levels and units
nor that norms enforcing this value are commonly shared and held within the firm. In the fol-
lowing, the extent to which the management succeeds in communicating the importance of
innovative improvements and motivating employees to continuously generate and implement
new ideas is presented.

Communication
To ensure innovativeness throughout the whole organization, the management expects the
communication within the company to take place actively, which means that necessary infor-
mation is always available and that everybody knows where to get specific information or
where it is needed. Indeed, the interviewed people perceive the communication between
departments concerning project issues to be unproblematic. The project-related work and the
spatial closeness of some departments are seen to support the sharing of information. Short
distances and the existence of public places (eg, cafeteria) particularly stimulate the infor-
mal exchange. A common channel to facilitate formal communication within the business
units is the meeting of construction site managers, which takes place weekly and explicitly
provides the opportunity to exchange new ideas or to discuss problems. If novelties represent
explicit knowledge, such as a new machine, the ideas can easily be passed on. As soon as new
ideas are connected with practical action or process-related issues, it is more difficult to
spread them due to their tacit nature. Moreover, these meetings are mostly fully occupied with
other topics that often restrict time for sharing of ideas to a minimum. Between departments
that are active in the same business but located in different regions the information exchange
is additionally hampered due to spatial division. This is why many interviewees think that a
sufficient number of new ideas is created and problem-related information is available
throughout the firm, but that there is an insufficient exchange of these ideas and information.
As a consequence, frustration may arise if effort was made to find a solution that already
exists within the firm or to find information elsewhere that is available in another department.
Spending time on re-inventing the wheel is particularly frustrating, as innovative ideas are
mostly generated and implemented within the narrow scope of a construction project.

Participation
Most of the interviewed people value the freedom they have to organize their project work, to
make decisions independently and to take on responsibility within given project frameworks.
 Organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour 167

It became obvious that allowing for autonomous work stimulates employees to try and test
new ideas, as they become responsible for the success of the project. Interestingly, resource
constraints may have a positive as well as a negative effect in this regard. On the one hand,
constraints may make project goals appear ambitious and, therefore, can serve as incentives
to find new ways for meeting project requirements. On the other hand, they may diminish the
chance of successfully putting a new idea into practice. A complementary signal to the dele-
gation of responsibility is the way mistakes are dealt with. The interviewed staff members
report that making mistakes in connection with new ideas is allowed. However, the tolerant
attitude of the management towards failures may also be traced back to the low innovation
degree that work autonomy confined to project conditions primarily brings about.

Recognition
Although it is possible for staff members to be creative, the willingness to do so is not explic-
itly rewarded. Existing rewards (premium bonuses) are not sufficiently taken advantage of
and the interviews indicated that people value rewards differently. However, most of the inter-
viewed employees indicated that they are particularly stimulated to find innovative solutions
by a multifaceted, challenging and autonomous work that additionally allows them to work
with interesting peers. Moreover, a strong motivator is also the success of a project and the
employee’s certainty of having largely contributed to it. Most notably, these people often face
a lacking support and appreciation of their supervisor. They regard this support to be crucial
for preventing the loss of ideas during daily business, as in all phases of construction projects
there is never enough time to sufficiently look for new ideas. Moreover, often decisions have
to be made within extremely short periods, and there is no time for clearing up further details.
This restriction is partly due to external influences such as short periods for making large-
scale offers, restricted time between contract award and beginning of construction work, or
delays of detailed plans. However, the supervisor has to be behind an idea, he has to utter his
support or justify its rejection clearly. Yet, most important is an immediate feedback on an
innovative proposal, not only to verify the proposer’s way of task fulfillment but also to make
enough time and other resources available for developing the idea until an applicable solution
is found. Some of the interviewees see a lack of this kind of feedback, resulting in dissatis-
fied people who no longer are able to take their ideas into consideration for the ongoing proj-
ect. As one of the reasons for late or no feedback at all, it was found that the (department)
management itself is occupied with an enormous workload that induces them to neglect inno-
vative ideas of staff members.

Symbolism
The firm’s strategy of being adaptive to changing conditions of projects leads to a strong proj-
ect focus which seldom supports the taking up of unsolved problems or unrealized ideas to
be preprocessed for future projects. Thus, people often have the feeling that innovative behav-
iour is not regarded to be essential for the well-being of the firm, especially if the effect of an
idea on the outcomes of the ongoing project is not immediately visible. They believe that the
chance of contributing to the long-term success of the firm is repeatedly wasted.
Continuous improvements require the ability to solve project-related problems and to make
use of appropriate problem-solving methods. In order to meet these requirements, a highly
skilled workforce and occasions to newly combine the knowledge available within the firm
are needed. Thus, Frutiger follows an active policy of sustaining a high skill level and
168 Andreas Hartmann

improving the skill variety of all staff members. A professional development programme is
established which includes not only several training courses given by experts from outside but
also possibilities to learn from colleagues and to participate in their experience. For example,
a training course on technical know-how regularly takes place. During this course staff mem-
bers from different technical and regional units explain their way of conducting work
processes and present interesting solutions and latest developments in their field of expertise.
As employees from the entire organization take part, the course provides the opportunity to
intensely learn from each other. Most of the interviewees clearly see the importance of their
work for the firm to be reflected in these training courses, which in turn serve as motivator
for generating new ideas.

Discussion and implications

Context matters
The research aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the link between culture and inno-
vation in construction. Based on theoretical propositions about the role of organizational cul-
ture in motivating innovative behaviour an in-depth case study on the innovation activities of
a Swiss contractor was undertaken. The case study results suggest that three contextual factors
affect the extent to which managerial actions succeed in inducing a culture conducive to inno-
vation in construction firms: the firm’s strategy, project constraints and the regional separation.
The innovation practice at Frutiger revealed that the firm’s management first of all values
innovative improvements during the daily project work and uses different actions to transform
its expectations into consistent and consensual behaviour of the firm’s members. Here it
became obvious that the values and norms of the firm play a critical role in executing the
innovation strategy of the firm. A match between culture and strategy has to be achieved.
Consequently, managerial actions have to be aligned with the firm’s strategic orientation to
be effective. The managerial actions at Frutiger only partly succeed in activating the motiva-
tion mechanisms in this regard. On the one hand, there is too little or no emphasis on certain
actions (rewards and incentives) necessary to implement the components of Frutiger’s inno-
vation strategy. On the other hand, the motivational effect of a number of actions (autonomy,
communication instruments, job feedback) is diminished through project constraints and the
regional separation of business units. It was found that these two factors moderate the impact
of managerial actions on commitment and motivation in the firm. As a consequence, the
development and reinforcement of strong norms is impeded. Norms that focus employees’
attention to the innovation activities the top management strives for, that signalize the impor-
tance of these activities and that provide guidance on how to behave appropriately to accom-
plish the activities are underdeveloped or hardly perceptible. But for Frutiger, such norms
become all the more decisive, as generating and implementing new ideas are seen to be a task
of every member within the firm. Although the firm’s management constantly articulates the
relevance of innovative improvements, it needs put more emphasis on visible managerial
actions that support its messages and help implement the firm’s strategy. Moreover, these
actions must take the project-related work and the organizational structure of the firm into
account. Employees will not be motivated to behave innovatively until they recognize clear
and consistent signals and behavior on the part of management that communicate the impor-
tance of innovation.
 Organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour 169

Based on that, the case study points to a number of actions suitable to develop and rein-
force a culture within construction firms that is consistent with a strategy of innovative
improvements.

Using a comprehensive reward and incentive system

The case results show that different rewards and incentives motivate individuals to innovative
and that particularly intrinsic motivation through task design plays an important role. Thus,
instead of solely using monetary stimuli, construction management should revert to a com-
prehensive reward and incentive system. Such a system may include opportunities for
advancement, allowance for professional training, participation in congresses, provision of
additional resources, allocation of greater responsibility, or granting of performance-related
payment. However, the case suggests that a powerful way to stimulate creative outputs is the
creation of working conditions that allow employees to make choices and to bear responsibil-
ity. As these people get the possibility to work according to their skills and competences,
exploit their potential for personal development and recognize the importance of their work,
commitment and innovative efforts are expected to increase.

Allowing for autonomous work and task identity

Autonomous work and task identity are two of these job characteristics which the case shows
to be essential for choice and responsibility. Depending on the complexity of the construc-
tional task, activities should be integrated as far as possible, and one employee should hold
responsibility for that. For example, a site manager may take on pricing, work preparation and
execution in the case of a less complex project and should have the freedom to choose a task-
performing strategy. This allows for the usage of advantages from specialization and inter-
connectedness of different knowledge at the same time. Moreover, the identification with the
project and its success increases. However, attention has to be paid to the effect of project
constraints on the attainability of project goals. If an employee is responsible for a
comprehensive work package, it should be ensured that he or she looks upon difficult goals
as being achievable and is not afraid of trying uncertain and risky activities. That is, failures
should not be punished and activities should be rewarded even though goals have not been
achieved 100%.

Providing professional qualification and training

Besides the job itself, professional qualification and training programmes can also provide
for knowledge deepening as well as broadening. The case indicates that particularly training
courses for staff members from different technical and regional departments represent oppor-
tunities to combine knowledge and to develop uncommon ideas. These courses may serve as
signals for the significance of people’s skills and capabilities for the firm. Moreover, they
offer possibilities to learn from peers and to get to know the experts within the firm.

Giving immediate feedback on innovative ideas

Construction projects constrain the possibilities to generate and implement new ideas, as
projects only provide limited resources, but the implementation of innovative ideas is mostly
connected with the need for additional resources. The research results indicate that this
resource pressure on construction projects calls for specifically emphasizing supervisory
feedback. Employees will be only motivated to engage in extra role behaviour if they perceive
170 Andreas Hartmann

innovative activities not as threat but as chance for attaining project objectives. A supervisor’s
feedback – quickly and clearly given – creates the necessary sense of being or not being on
the right track, contributing or not contributing significantly to the success of project and
firm, and wasting or not wasting resources. Moreover, the research results suggest that with
sufficient support, project constraints become not barriers but incentives to innovation.

Giving general feedback on innovative behaviour

The immediate feedback on the proposal of innovative ideas to be implemented in ongoing
projects should be complemented by a more general feedback on an employee’s innovative
activities. Bilateral talks between supervisor and employee that take place regularly (eg, once
a year) may be particularly helpful to convey the importance and impact of being innovative
by, for instance, evaluating and appreciating previous endeavors. Moreover, they may also
give supervisors a better indication of rewards and incentives valued by employees.

Providing communication channels for implicit knowledge

Construction projects require an efficient usage of resources. The repeated development of
already existing solutions is not only a waste of resources but also frustrating. Along with an
open communication within construction firms for stimulating the generation of new ideas,
particular attention has to be paid to communication channels allowing exchange of informa-
tion about solutions of similar problems and detection of experts, especially peers from other
business units. The case study was able to point out that communication platforms are needed
which expressly facilitate the exchange of implicit knowledge throughout the organization.
Open and public spaces strongly facilitate informal sharing of ideas and solutions between
units close to each other. However, for knowledge exchange between units located in differ-
ent regions, more formal occasions should be provided. The course on technical know-how
and visits of construction sites are examples of communication channels from the examined
firm that are helpful to spread many of those new ideas which are incremental in nature, to
represent new combinations of existing solutions and to stress the importance of such ideas
and solutions for the firm.

Initiating innovation projects

Restricted resources and work pressure in projects often prevent good ideas from being devel-
oped until they are applicable. This may cause frustration and discouragement if ideas get com-
pletely lost in daily business. The significance of innovations particularly for the long-term
success of the firm would be more clearly communicated if ideas beneficial for future projects
but not realizable in the ongoing project are transferred into innovative solutions independently
of a specific construction project. That is, innovation projects are initiated which aim at novel
solutions applicable in upcoming construction projects. Moreover, if the persons who gener-
ated the ideas are also responsible for the innovation projects and receive sufficient resources
for developing the idea, a considerable motivational effect can be expected.

Conclusion

Motivated people are essential for the generation and implementation of new ideas, and orga-
nizational culture can foster motivation to innovate by stressing the importance of innovation
 Organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour 171
for an organization and defining the way to behave innovatively. Managerial actions help
communicate innovation importance as well as induce and reinforce the norms which define
innovative behaviour. The case of a Swiss contractor shows that within construction firms,
managerial actions have to take the effects of project constraints and regional separation on
the development of an innovation-supportive culture into account. Using a comprehensive
reward and incentive system, allowing for autonomous work and task identity, providing pro-
fessional qualification and training, giving general and immediate feedback, providing com-
munication channels for implicit knowledge and initiating innovation projects are proposed
actions that directly respond to this requirement. However, as there should be a fit between
organizational culture and strategy, managerial actions should also reflect the strategic orien-
tation of a firm. Here lies a limitation of the study. The examined contractor pursues a strat-
egy that emphasizes continuous improvements and creative behavior throughout the entire
organization. Consequently, the findings are first of all related to the execution of such a strat-
egy. Future research should therefore focus on different strategic orientations of construction
firms and try to determine which managerial actions are suitable to create a culture that moti-
vates innovative behaviour according to these strategic preferences. Moreover, due to the
single-case design it is worth exploring whether there are other contextual factors that may
have an influence on the emergence of an innovation culture in construction firms. This
includes the implications for managerial actions aimed at stimulating innovative behaviour in
these firms.

Acknowledgement

The research was funded by the Innovation Promotion Agency (CIT) Switzerland.

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