Abstract

Title: PROPOSAL OF AN IDEAS’ MANAGEMENT MODEL ADAPTED TO ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES AND INNOVATION IN COMPANIES. THE CASE OF THE REGION OF LA SAFOR
Presented by: Cristina Santandreu Mascarell
Directed by: DR. Jordi J. Mauri Castelló
                     DR. Lourdes Canós Darós

Innovation is the basis of companies in the future. The reason for this can be found in the pressure of a market consisting of increasingly demanding customers due to the multiple possibilities of interaction; in new technologies; in increasingly aggressive competitors; or in the recognition of a globalized but small world because of information and collaboration. We could continue justifying the importance of business innovation, but there are a lot of researches about this issue, where what adds value and differentiates the company in a highly competitive and globalized environment is identified.
Consequently, we cannot imagine a company of any size, sector or market, which should not be at all the time concerned about any kind of innovation, so that these processes are not just an initiative, but a persistent habit. Innovation was considered as “to make it new” but now it is considered as a much broader set of elements that form an innovation system in companies, universities, research centers, etc. Everything is integrated to set up the innovative capacity of a country.
Our research focuses on one aspect of innovation, as a result of a new organizational structure in companies, which involves the ability of individuals and companies to learn continuously to adapt to changes. This involves organizational changes that lead to the coordination of new forms of work, thereby achieving innovation through competitive advantages that differentiate companies.
In this context, it should be noted that the competitive position of companies depends on environmental threats and opportunities and internal strengths and weaknesses, which are not static and change over time. Thus, companies need a large amount of information to be managed and analyzed to make right decisions, by using both internal and external information. Who actually manages this information and make decisions in business are the people in it, so we consider the importance of people in business to provide three lines of research the main link of which being the people and the way they work:
1) First line of research. Relates the inner workings of people (brain) with information and communication technologies. In this sense, we introduce the relationship with the companies, concluding that there is a similarity between them in the way of processing information for decision-making.
2) Core Research. Common forms of work (good practices) in innovative companies are identified.
3) Second line of research. Relate these forms of work, which are demanded by the companies, with the competencies of higher education graduates.
The present paper explores these lines and the results, useful for academics and for companies that want to generate innovations.