Knowledge Base Repository
In addition to research papers, the Design Society is developing several valuable resources for those interested in the study of design. These include a repository of PhD theses, a library of case studies and transcripts of design activities, and an archive of our newsletters. Please note that these resources are accessible exclusively to Design Society members.
Fitting squares into round holes: Enabling innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship through corporate Fab Labs
Fuller, Matt
Type:
Year:
2017
Editor:
Anja Maier, Stanko Škec, Harrison Kim, Michael Kokkolaras, Josef Oehmen, Georges Fadel, Filippo Salustri, Mike Van der Loos
Author:
Series:
ICED
Institution:
Université Paris-Dauphine, France
Section:
Design Processes, Design Organisation and Management
Page(s):
407-416
Abstract:
Acting on personal convictions that a large automobile maker's ability to innovate was too closed-off and poorly suited for breakthrough innovation, a small team at the main R&D campus decided in late 2013 to create a corporate Fab Lab. Building upon what started as a MIT outreach program called Fab Labs, these spaces, present in over twenty large multi-national firms since 2009, are seen by their creators as an opportunity to increase employees' ability to innovate. Although innovation is a strategic priority in most firms, the creators of these spaces encountered substantial institutional resistance early on due to the different nature of Fab Labs, or in their words trying to fit a "square in a round hole." This paper presents corporate Fab Labs to scientific literature. It proposes a theoretical foundation building on established fields of research in managing innovation capabilities and institutional entrepreneurship. Empirical data collected from the founders of ten Labs in France, Japan, and South Korea is analyzed to test this framework. Findings include unique contributions made by Fab Labs to a firm's innovation capabilities and proposals of complementary research paths.
Keywords:
