The Risks of Autonomy: Empirical Evidence for the Necessity of a Balance Management in Promoting Organizational Innovativeness

Abstract

For the purpose of promoting innovativeness in organizations, the literature recommends more decentralization of power and more participative leadership as one dimension of empowerment and thus greater situation control for employees. In fact, however, increasing situation control involves specific risks (including co-ordination problems). Without concurrent integration to cushion these risks through orientation, consensus and trust, increasing situation control therefore leads not to a further increase in innovativeness but to a decline. This first empirical demonstration of the covert curvilinear relationship between situation control and innovativeness in n = 101 organizations reveals these risks. At the same time, it calls into question the widespread recommendations in the literature for action on innovation-friendly organization and leadership.