The Role of Formal Routines in Organizational Innovation

Abstract

This study seeks to explore managers’ attitudes towards the role of formal routines in organizational innovation in SEE region. Thirty (30) in-depth semi-structured interviews have been conducted with variety of managers working in fifteen (15) different organizations. In addition, routines in this research are directly connected with overall organizations activities that have a powerful role in organizing and controlling the entire working process. In these managers’ attitude routines seem to underpin stability that in the last instance is related comprehensively with flexibility that does create the core for innovation through developing an inclusive channel of internal communication. Furthermore, this process is closely linked with employees’ autonomy in acting inside organizations, which insofar though, can be drawn that even autonomy in itself paradoxically is a routine that provides flexibility, which does create the necessary room for flourishing innovation in redesigning and reshaping routines as best templates in the working environment. Hence, in this particular research routines in SEE region seem to be another important source of prompting innovation through providing and creating the basic internal stability and security in executing employees job.