What is it about?
Many companies create autonomous new product development teams (i.e. 'skunkworks') for radical innovation. This article traces how a one skunkworks developed a strong team identity that enhanced team success while ultimately provoking failure following 're-integration'. We draw on later data from the same company to suggest new principles for managing skunkworks.
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Why is it important?
While skunkworks can succeed at their immediate innovation task, they can also lead to deeper organizational issues down the road. A dangerous ‘us and them’ situation can emerge, leading to jealously and alienation that can almost leave an organization worse off than before. We develop recommendations on how this problem can be avoided.
Perspectives
This article sheds light on just how separate a new product development team should be from its parent organization. It also highlights that strong team identity can be a double-edged sword.
Dr David Oliver
University of Sydney
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The interplay of product and process in skunkworks identity work: An inductive model, Strategic Management Journal, April 2019, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/smj.3034.
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