SME managers: how to identify key players in the company in order to innovate
SME leaders are known for being brimming with ideas, but often lack the solutions to bring them to fruition. Hidden within SMEs' physical and digital communication networks are unsuspected players who can either facilitate or hinder the acceptance of innovations. This article proposes a method for identifying and mobilizing these key players in order to maximize the chances of innovation success.
Le Goff Rémi, Montpellier Business School; Marc Robert, Montpellier Business School and Sophie Mignon, University of Montpellier
Faced with recent disruptions, such as the Covid crisis and, more recently, inflation, the imperative for SME leaders is clear: innovate to overcome crises. Whether it's managerial innovations (such as the liberated company) or technological innovations (such as the adoption of Data Analytics), management teams are usually not short of ideas.
However, they often encounter significant obstacles, such as the legendary resistance to change. Management teams regularly struggle to roll out these innovations because negative attitudes persist. Our study reveals that there are unexpected, often overlooked players within SMEs who can play a decisive role in the adoption of these innovations. Who are they? How can they be effectively mobilized?
Choosing the right communication channels
It is often believed that acceptance of an innovation depends on rational discourse from management highlighting the expected benefits. The goal is to create a coalition of attitudes favorable to innovation within the SME in order to limit resistance to change. Although necessary, this strategy may be insufficient if the message is not relayed by the right people, particularly when management strictly follows the organizational chart to disseminate its message. To be effective, this message must be conveyed by influential people in the SME's communication network, a network that rarely reflects the organizational chart.
This phenomenon has been amplified by the digital transformation of most SMEs (see Num Barometer 24). Tools such as WhatsApp, Slack, and Teams encourage exchanges, often informal and discreet, allowing individuals or groups outside the management team to play a central role in internal communication. This increase in exchanges has a strong influence on attitudes toward innovation and creates social dynamics that can disrupt the rollout of innovation led by the management team.
The unexpected players in innovation
In our study, we analyzed an industrial SME with around 50 employees that introduced lean management practices. The introduction of these practices in this SME met with significant resistance to change. In this context, we identified influential employees in the company's communication network and examined their role in disseminating discourse related to innovation. Using social network analysis (a method for modeling relational systems well described by Emmanuel Lazega) and interviews with the SME's employees, our study confirmed the key role of managers in disseminating discourse that legitimizes innovation and promotes positive attitudes. However, we also found that the SME's communication network is not centered around the management team; it is fragmented into several subgroups dominated by actors with varied profiles, from workers to the CFO. These actors share three characteristics: (i) their legitimacy, often linked to seniority or individual performance; (ii) their representativeness, as they defend the interests of a group of employees; (iii) their central position in the communication network.
Employee coalitions or pockets of resistance? These actors influence the dissemination of information about innovation and help shape the attitudes of other employees. They retain certain information, promote certain narratives, or generate their own stories, whether favorable or unfavorable to innovation. This control over information gives them significant power over the formation of attitudes and, by extension, over the emergence of resistance to change. Their influence enables them to form coalitions of employees who are either favorable or opposed to innovation. In our case, these actors were initially underestimated by management because of their non-managerial status and their hidden influence in the communication network. The management team ultimately had to adjust its discourse and negotiate with them to adapt new practices, maintain existing practices, and sometimes even promote certain actors.
Promoting the adoption of innovations by leveraging internal channels
We are convinced that anyone working in an SME, whether part of the management team or not, intuitively identifies these representative, legitimate, and central players who are capable of promoting or hindering innovation. Nevertheless, it is crucial to go beyond this simple intuition.
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Our research shows that these actors often go unnoticed by management, mainly because most communication between employees takes place digitally and therefore goes unnoticed. However, they play an essential role, as they are often better placed than managers to convince their colleagues to adopt an innovation.
Understanding resistance to change.
SME managers must therefore begin by identifying key players, using simple network analysis methods to visualize your company's communication structure. Many social network analysis software programs are relatively accessible. For example, there are numerous tutorials available on how to use Gephi and NodeXL software.
In addition, generative AI such as ChatGPT can "act as network analysis experts" and guide managers in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. This analysis will identify the key players. Then, their intimate knowledge of the company will help them determine which actors are also legitimate and representative, making it easier to identify those who play a key role in internal communication and who can rally their colleagues. The leader's role is then to involve these key actors, encouraging them to actively participate in innovation activities to select and adapt innovations.
The goal is for them to become spokespersons within the company, capable of defending the interests of employees while ensuring the effective dissemination of information, enabling teams to form their own opinions. Finally, our study shows that these actors, although they may represent a source of resistance, constitute a valuable opportunity to promote innovation. Resistance to change is often a signal that can be exploited to better adapt innovations to the specific context of those who use them on a daily basis. These actors then become key interlocutors in overcoming these obstacles.
Le Goff Rémi, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Montpellier Business School; Marc Robert, Professor of Management Sciences, Montpellier Business School and Sophie Mignon, University Professor, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.