Navigating the in-between : exploring individuals’ different meanings of creating space for collaborative innovation

Abstract

This doctoral study was conducted as an inquiry into the process of creating space for collaborative innovation to advance understanding of how such spaces might contribute to ecosystem emergence (EE). Limited attention had been paid to individuals’ lived experiences and the meanings they attach to the process of creating collaborative innovation spaces (CIS) as they navigate the ambiguous and uncertain early phases of catalysing EE.

Grounded in a processual and relational ontology of collaborative innovation and organisational spaces, the study investigates how individuals make sense of creating CIS and the role of CIS in catalysing EE. The dissertation draws on three publications, one conceptual and two narrative inquiries. Publication I conceptualises CIS as temporary, transitional spaces of being and becoming, emphasising their relational and situated, context-dependent nature. Publication II applies the concept of liminality to a nationallevel data economy initiative, showing how participants navigate a state of ‘not-yetknowing’ while co-constructing clarity, direction, and community. Publication III draws on paradox theory and narrative analysis to identify four distinct decision-making trajectories, revealing how individuals within a multistakeholder arrangement negotiate tensions in organising for EE. Together, these publications provide evidence that CIS and their related processes are created not only through design, but also through situated, relational, and emergent processes with significant meanings to be acknowledged. Navigating the in-between shows that creating a CIS is a transitional, tension-laden process, in which CIS can be seen as enabling in-between spaces and creating conditions for EE. Methodologically, this dissertation contributes by drawing on a microfoundations perspective to examine individual sensemaking narratives that reveal how individuals perceive, experience, and navigate the uncertain, ambiguous process of creating CIS. The dissertation also presents recommendations for policymakers, managers, and other ecosystem actors.