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Making Employee Driven Innovation Achievable Approaches and Practices For Workplace Learning 1st Edition Justina Tan
Making Employee Driven Innovation Achievable Approaches and Practices For Workplace Learning 1st Edition Justina Tan
Making Employee Driven Innovation Achievable Approaches and Practices For Workplace Learning 1st Edition Justina Tan
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This is one of the first comprehensive studies on EDI in an Asian context. The book
by Justina Tan and Wing On Lee impresses not only with its scientific foundation
but also with its relevance. It thus builds a valuable bridge between research and
practice and opens a new chapter in EDI research.
Peter Kesting, Associate Professor of Strategy and
Organizational Behaviour, Aarhus University, Denmark
Innovation especially EDI is widely recognised and accepted by organisations. The key
challenge faced by many leaders is the difficulty of putting in place a pragmatic and
sustainable system to support EDI. This book is a much-needed guide on how to
translate aspirations into practice.
Lee Kheng Hock, Senior Consultant, Deputy CEO (Education
and Community Partnerships), SingHealth Community Hospitals, Singapore
This Book Series, supported by the Singapore Institute for Adult Learning (IAL),
provides a platform for publishing research and practical volumes on topics related
to adult learning, emergent jobs and skills particularly in economies that are filled
with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, VUCA economics, changing
social and economic circumstances, and social and economic inclusivity.
The books in the series are for graduate and post-graduate students, academics
and practitioners such as adult educators, human resource personnel, and consultants
who are change agents.
--
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
List of Figures xi
List of Tables xii
List of Contributors xiii
Series Editor’s Foreword xvi
Index 177
FIGURES
Dr. Izabelle Bäckström is senior lecturer and researcher at Lund University, Swe-
den. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management and her
research interests include innovation management, particularly inclusive forms of
innovation such as employee-driven innovation in private as well as public organi-
sational contexts.
Chong Wan Har is Associate Professor at the Psychology and Child & Human
Development Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Techno-
logical University, Singapore. Her research interests include student motivation and
engagement, and self-processes in learning.
Cornelius Herstatt is a leading German researcher and university professor for in-
novation management with a chair at the Technical University Hamburg. He is the
Managing Director of the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at
the TUHH and heads the Center for Frugal Innovation. One focus is his research
regarding technology and innovation.
Malte Krohn recently defended his Ph.D. thesis at Hamburg University of Tech-
nology – his research focuses on the role of mindsets in innovation efforts. He is a
Faculty Innovation Fellow at the University of Stanford, the author of The Mindful
Startup, and he now works as a freelance coach and consultant.
Prof. Wing On Lee is an Executive Director of the Institute for Adult Learning and
a Professor at the University of Social Sciences. He edits/co-edits for four eminent
book series, namely Routledge Critical Studies in Asian Education, Routledge Citizen-
ship, Character and Values Education, Routledge-IAL Series on Adult Learning for Emergent
Jobs and Skills and Springer Education Innovation Education.
Joel Sim is a research executive from the Centre of Workplace Learning and Per-
formance, Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. He
is involved in research related to improving employee engagement in innovation at
the workplace.
Dr. Justina Tan is Director of Learning and Professional Development at the Insti-
tute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. She holds Doctor
of Education (EdD) degrees from University College London, Institute of Educa-
tion and Nanyang Technological University. Justina leads the team in helping enter-
prises deepen workplace learning and engage in employee-driven innovation.
SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD
This is not just one of the books on workplace learning, but a book that introduces
Employee-Driven Innovation (EDI) as a conceptual and practice framework that
will engage employees as the key driver for workplace learning. Unlike many other
concepts of workplace learning that focus on training employees to produce what
the enterprises require and hence often a top-down approach from employers, EDI
emphasises self-driven initiatives in the process of workplace learning.
The concept of workplace learning emerged in the 21st century, with varied ter-
minologies, such as work-based learning, work-integrated learning, on-the-job train-
ing, etc. These terms represent different perspectives on how to, how should, learning
take place in the workplace. Oftentimes, these terms were used interchangeably, mak-
ing the concept of learning rather unclear – that is, workplace learning may mean
different things to different people, even though we all agree that workplace learning
is a significant strategy to enhance productivity, especially in terms of the quality of
work, standards of the products, and the potential towards innovation. However, what
we find is that most tend to treat workplace learning as a kind of on-the-job training.
Cheah and Wong (2019) have tried to distinguish the different meanings of some
of these terms. For work-based learning, the driver/owner is the educational insti-
tutions; the participants are mainly trainees; the purpose is to expose participants
to meaningful and relevant workplace experiences to better connect their learning
to the workplace and deepen their skills before graduation; and the outcome of
work-based learning is to produce skilled and work-ready graduates. In contrast, for
workplace learning, the driver is the employer, who may partner with consultants
and educational institutions to offer training; the participants are employees; and the
purpose of workplace learning is to address skills gaps, improve performance and
develop staff. The major difference, as compared to work-based learning, is that it is
an ongoing work-learn process, aiming at continued improvement in performance,
and can become a strategy for professional development.
Series Editor’s Forword xvii
Reference
Cheah, S.M., & Wong, Y. (2019, June 24–28). Proceedings of the 15th international CDIO
conference, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/
wolee/Downloads/CDIO2019_03-WorkplaceLearningforDevelopingFacultyCompeten-
cyinSupportingSpiralCurriculum.pdf.
1
MAKING EMPLOYEE-DRIVEN
INNOVATION ACHIEVABLE
Paving the Way
Introduction
“Innovation” has become the buzzword of the business world today. Many enter-
prises ranging from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to Fortune 500 enter-
prises espouse innovation as key to maintaining an enterprise’s survivability and
competitive advantage. The practice of engaging employees, encouraging them to
innovate, is known as employee-driven innovation, otherwise known as EDI. EDI
refers to “the generation and implementation of new ideas, products and processes –
including the everyday remaking of jobs and organizational practices – originating
from interaction of employees” (Høyrup, 2012, p. 8). The core idea is that employees
have a huge repository of experience and knowledge of their jobs. This places
them in a good position to come up with ideas to make incremental changes or
modest improvements to improve the efficiency of their work processes or give
feedback on the enterprise’s products and services based on their interactions with
stakeholders. However, engaging employees in EDI is not easy as employees are
usually comfortable with established routines at work and may not want to chal-
lenge the status quo. Furthermore, employees tend to perceive innovation as the
responsibility of key personnel and that it is not their duty to engage in innovation
(Aaltonen & Hytti, 2014).
DOI: 10.4324/9781003228011-1
2 Justina Tan and Joel Sim
can include the effects of the implementation on their job security, which has been
identified as a factor that deters employees from innovating.
As mentioned by Birken et al. (2012), another strategy to encourage the imple-
mentation of ideas is to provide employees with the necessary tools to implement
them. The tools in question can take different forms such as providing learning
opportunities for employees to be exposed to the new ideas being implemented.
Learning opportunities may refer to training by a subject matter expert or even
peers who have completed the initial training. This promotes role clarity, enhancing
employee understanding of the idea, making them more likely to implement them
(Cadwallader et al., 2010). In addition, learning opportunities help to promote em-
ployee perception of their ability to accomplish responsibilities associated with their
job roles, which is crucial in driving individual innovative performance (Chen et al.,
2013). As innovation necessitates changes to employees’ job roles, providing clarity
and improving their perceived ability to take on their modified job roles is crucial to
encourage them to implement innovations.
Table 1.1 provides a list of recommended practices discussed in this chapter which
organisations may refer to motivate employees to innovate.
TABLE 1.1
List of Recommended Practices for Organisations to Motivate Employees to
Innovate.
a driver of innovation. This is not unexpected to Zhang and Zhou (2015) as they
have posited that cultural characteristics which seemingly impede innovation could
plausibly support innovation. High power distance, for example, can possibly thwart
innovation as it discourages creativity. However, in circumstance where leaders have
clarity on the strategic vision of how they want to lead innovation, and where sub-
ordinates have respect for authority and carry out manager’s decision, high power
distance makes possible the implementation of concrete innovation policies and
action plans that help companies achieve success.
Collectivism is another characteristic that presumably hinders innovation, and
which the Chinese espouse. It brings about a confluence of behaviour that suppos-
edly holds back innovation as it deters diverse views which are critical in cultivat-
ing creativity. In today’s loosely coupled world, the same collectivism, according to
Zhang and Zhou (2015), could support collaborative innovation and development.
Kesting et al.’s study (2016) corroborates what Zhang and Zhou (2015) have posited
and that is, EDI “applies beyond the Western world” (p. 1074) and is “robust towards
cultural context factors, at least for the case of China” (p. 1074).
Similarly, in our research that examines the unfolding of EDI in Singapore which
despite being set in a cultural mosaic of “East meets West” has a culture of hierarchy
and practises group-centredness (Tan & Sim, 2022; Tan, 2022), we found that the
EDI precept “applies beyond the Western world” and is “robust towards cultural and
context factors” (p. 1074). While we observe that employees are by and large capable
of coming up with new ideas to improve work practices and performance, the work
of innovation is in fact initiated by a few. To help employees regard improvement
as an integral part of their jobs whether it is ideation or implementation, middle
managers whether they carry the titles of team leader, production supervisor, or
marketing and communications manager play an important role as they are the ones
responsible for the day-to-day work. To be able to do that, middle managers should
discern the advantage of involving employees in generating and enacting new ideas
and be prepared to be questioned by the employees.
They should also embark on innovative work behaviour to encourage others to
do likewise. It is therefore important for senior management to cultivate a cadre
of middle managers that can motivate employees to innovate. Companies want-
ing to boost their innovative capabilities may also want to invest efforts to create a
culture of respect for employees and constantly communicate to them how their
work contributes to the overall success of the business as our findings also concur
that employees are more likely to participate in innovative work if they take pride in
working for the companies (Amundsen et al., 2014; Tan, 2022). Our findings also
demonstrate that it is important for companies to empower individuals especially
experienced ones with the autonomy to implement the ideas they have which are
very possibly within the scope of their work where they are considered experts.
While our aforesaid studies are nascent efforts taken to understand employee en-
gagement in innovation in the context of Singapore, it seems that the EDI unfolding
in Singapore may have more similarities with the EDI that emerged in the Western
context, specifically the Nordic than envisaged.
Making Employee-Driven Innovation Achievable 7
Forthcoming Chapters
The chapters that follow attempt to define the characteristics and practices that
foster EDI. Krohn and Herstatt’s chapter “Innovation Mindsets – A Framework to Un-
derstand Employees’ Motivation to Act on Opportunities for Innovation” focuses on the
innovative behaviour of individuals from the mindset perspective. They home in
on the pre-decisional phase of goal pursuit which involves assessing the desirability
and feasibility of potential courses of actions and calls for a deliberative mindset.
Though their research context is frugal innovation, they posit that the conceptual
model which they developed to understand opportunity recognition for frugal in-
novation could be adapted to understand how attitudes of managers and employ-
ees, subjective norm such as influential colleagues and superiors and perceptions of
autonomy and behavioural control to perform innovative behaviours bear on the
deliberation process towards engaging in and supporting EDI within organisations.
Chong, Sim, Chan and Billet’s chapter “Forging an Innovation Mindset: Practices in
Small to Medium Size Enterprises” goes beyond the deliberative mindset to explore
the implemental and actional mindsets in the initiation, enactment and sustain-
ment of EDI practices at workplaces. In their chapter, they delve into the growth
mindset and identify the individual and organisational enablers that foster growth
mindset which may possibly influence employees’ engagement in innovation in the
context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore where EDI concept
is not well-researched. McLaughlin and McLaughlin’s chapter “Moving Beyond the
Innovation Mindset” argues that engaging in innovation goes beyond having an
innovation mindset. It involves being schooled in proper skills and techniques. Their
chapter suggests ways that employees and organisations can engage in ideation.
Echebiri’s conceptual chapter “Employee Empowerment as a Foundational
Approach to Foster Employee-Driven Innovation” underlines the significance of
empowering employees to take on more active roles in the innovation processes.
Embedded within this perspective is an understanding that employees are impor-
tant actors in the innovation processes and organisations can encourage employees’
participation in innovation at both macro and micro levels. In his chapter, he identi-
fies the empowering practices that can enhance employees’ involvement in innova-
tion at organisational and individual levels. Bäckström and Mosleh’s chapter “The
Emergence of Employee-Driven Innovation and the Interplay of Top-Down and
Bottom-Up Efforts” explores the interplay of top-down and bottom-up efforts of
employees and managers and how it affects the emergence of EDI using the dis-
course analysis framework. In their chapter, they highlight the significance of human
interactions in the emergence of innovations. According to Bäckström and Mosleh,
the decisions made or processes planned that emerge are in fact co-created by in-
dividuals involved in the social interactions despite the engagement of managerial
tools, interventions, and structures. They also underscore the unpredictability that
characterises the interactions between employees and managers.
The subsequent three chapters of the book traverse the narrative of EDI in the
contexts of the United Kingdom (UK), Finland and Singapore, categorically on
8 Justina Tan and Joel Sim
how SMEs can capitalise on employees’ diverse capabilities and develop their initia-
tives to innovate to achieve competitive edge. Li’s chapter explores how SMEs in
the UK harness their employees’ knowledge and networks to drive innovation and
business performance. It also proposes an adaptive SME framework which deline-
ates how employees’ knowledge and capabilities can be engaged to achieve success.
Understanding how SMEs can develop employees’ dexterity to innovate is pertinent
because they make up the greater part of organisations and play a substantive role in
global economic growth.
Hiltunen’s chapter “Employee-Driven Innovation (EDI) in Finland” discusses
EDI in the Finnish service context centring on empowerment, co-creation, ante-
cedents and barriers of EDI. It presents how EDI can be contextualised and espoused
to acquiesce to the nature of the industry, focusing particularly on the support of
good practices to engage employees in innovation in the service sector. It also con-
jectures that more inspirational, empowering and innovation-oriented leaders are
needed to support EDI in organisations. Tan’s chapter “Understanding Employee-
Driven Innovation Through Positioning Theory Lens: Insights From Singapore”
postulates that individuals show measure of flexibility and plasticity in the way they
behave and uses the positioning theory to discuss the unfolding of EDI in two
Singapore SMEs. It discusses notably the positionings that the senior management,
managers and employees can assume to foster employee engagement in innovation
against the milieu that some employees are considered more capable than others in
generating and implementing ideas. It is apparent as a construct, EDI is appealing as
it recognises that every employee has the ability to innovate but as with many other
constructs, its realisation in practice is impacted by considerations. The conclud-
ing chapter recaps the major concepts and practices presented by the contributing
authors on how some of these considerations may be managed and circumvented
resulting in a promising enactment of EDI in practice.
References
Aaltonen, S., & Hytti, U. (2014). Barriers to employee-driven innovation: A study of a re-
gional medium-sized bakery. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 15(3),
159–168. https://doi.org/10.5367/ijei.2014.0157
Allen, J., Jimmieson, N.L., Bordia, P., & Irmer, B.E. (2007). Uncertainty during organiza-
tional change: Managing perceptions through communication. Journal of Change Manage-
ment, 7(2), 187–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697010701563379
Amarantou, V., Kazakopoulou, S., Chatzoudes, D., & Chatzoglou, P. (2018). Resistance to
change: An empirical investigation of its antecedents. Journal of Organizational Change
Management, 31(2), 426–450. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-05-2017-0196
Amundsen, O., Aasen, T., Gressgård, L., & Hansen, K. (2014). Preparing organisations for
employee-driven open innovation. International Journal of Business Science and Applied Man-
agement, 9(1), 25–35. http://hdl.handle.net/10419/190651
Axtell, C.M., Holman, D.J., Unsworth, K.L., Wall, T.D., Waterson, P.E., & Harrington,
E. (2000). Shopfloor innovation: Facilitating the suggestion and implementation of
ideas. Frontline employee motivation to participate in service innovation implementation.
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Krozer, Y., & Nentjes, A. (2006). An essay on innovations for sustainable development. Envi-
ronmental Sciences, 3(3), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/15693430600804354
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Morrison, E.W., & Milliken, F. (2000). Organizational silence: A barrier to change and devel-
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Parker, S.L., Jimmieson, N.L., & Johnson, K.M. (2013). General self-efficacy influences affec-
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Schaarschmidt, M. (2016). Frontline employees’ participation in service innovation imple-
mentation: The role of perceived external reputation. European Management Journal, 34(5),
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2
INNOVATION MINDSETS – A
FRAMEWORK TO UNDERSTAND
EMPLOYEES’ MOTIVATION TO ACT ON
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION
Malte Krohn and Cornelius Herstatt
Introduction
Today, organisations are increasingly aware that innovation needs to be at the core of
their business activities. This alertness expands to various actors within innovation
ecosystems, such as companies, policymakers or universities (Kahn, 2018). Further-
more, organisations increasingly realise that their employees represent a substantial
potential for innovation (Hansen et al., 2017). Frequently, innovation is understood
as an outcome in the form of innovative products (Calantone et al., 2006), improve-
ments in a company’s supply chain (Arlbjørn et al., 2011) or entirely new business
models (Osterwalder, 2010). Yet, innovation can also be understood as an organi-
sational process that leads to respective innovative outcomes (Baregheh et al., 2009)
and research explored the dynamic interaction of innovation processes and out-
comes (Utterback & Abernathy, 1975). Expanding this view, Kahn (2018) recently
proposed a typology that integrates the human factor in his mindset-process-outcome
typology of innovation. The typology suggests that while innovation as an outcome
answers the question – “What do you want to happen?” and innovation as a process
answers the question – “How will you make it happen?”, innovation as a mindset
answers the question – “What should be instilled and ingrained to prepare for the
what and the how?” (Kahn, 2018, p. 459). In this regard, Kahn (2018, p. 459) sug-
gests that:
Mindset aligns employees and manifests the culture needed for innovation to
happen. . . . It is about instilling and ingraining a mindset that prepares the indi-
vidual and organization for innovation so that there is proper engagement in the
innovation process to achieve the desired innovation outcome.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003228011-2
12 Malte Krohn and Cornelius Herstatt
becoming intensely involved with the solving of a given task activates exactly those cognitive
procedures that help task completion. The created mindset (i.e., the sum total of the acti-
vated cognitive procedures) should consist of the cognitive orientation that is most conducive
to successful task performance.
(Gollwitzer, 2012, p. 528)
the willingness and ability to intentionally create, introduce, apply and support new ideas
as an individual, within a work role, group or organization and continuously maintain
volition to promote idea development along the innovation process, in order to generate in-
novative outcomes.
In that regard, Kahn’s (2018) notion of engagement in the innovation process and
Kesting and Ulhøi’s (2010) suggestion of idea generation and implementation are incor-
porated in the definition. Hence, we can proceed to a discussion of operationalising
the innovation mindset. Here, our analysis draws on empirical mindset research from
the field of entrepreneurship (Delanoë‐Gueguen & Fayolle, 2019) and suggests that
deliberation- and implementation-related mindset aspects need to be operational-
ised in distinct ways. In the remainder of this chapter, the focus lies on operation-
alising the deliberative mindset aspects of an innovation mindset. Operationalising
the implemental mindset aspects of an innovation mindset provides an interesting
opportunity for future research. For example, by identifying relevant gestation actions
(Delanoë‐Gueguen & Fayolle, 2019; Van Gelderen et al., 2019) that may serve as
proxies for an implemental innovation mindset. Following Delanoë‐Gueguen and
Fayolle (2019), our operationalisation of deliberation-related aspects of the innova-
tion mindset is based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991). The
TPB suggests that intentions are the closest cognitive antecedent to actually observ-
able behaviour and that intentions can be explained by individuals’ attitude, subjective
norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) regarding the behaviour in question
(Ajzen, 1991). These relationships received substantial empirical confirmation in
various contexts (Armitage & Conner, 2001; Kautonen et al., 2013). Furthermore,
the TPB provides a suitable framework to understand individuals’ motivation to
support innovative activities (Goepel et al., 2012) and individuals’ perspectives on
applying novel approaches to innovation (Bartl et al., 2012; Nedon, 2015). Lastly,
the TPB is a means of operationalising desirability and feasibility considerations or
opportunity recognition (Krueger, 2007), which resembles the cognitive procedures
16 Malte Krohn and Cornelius Herstatt
underlying the deliberative mindset (Gollwitzer, 1990). However, to the best of our
knowledge, the TPB has not been linked to the mindset theory of action phases in
the innovation context. Hence, future research should further investigate the prom-
ising link between mindset and intention theories in the innovation context with
conceptual and empirical studies.
Scholars discussed various innovation-related phenomena with regard to mind-
sets, such as the design thinking mindset (Schweitzer et al., 2016; Groeger & Sch-
weitzer, 2020), an open innovation mindset (Engelsberger et al., 2021; Salampasis
et al., 2015) a suitable mindset for service-driven innovation (Töytäri et al., 2018)
and a frugal mindset (Soni & Krishnan, 2014; Krohn & Herstatt, 2019). Our analysis
suggests that mindset-based perspectives should be discussed in a specific socio-
economic research context. In this chapter, we apply the TPB to derive a model of
organisational members’ motivation to engage in frugal innovation projects. However,
our study also provides a promising perspective to advance the understanding of in-
novative behaviour in the context of EDI.
seek to minimize the use of material and financial resources in the complete value chain
(development, manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal) with the objective of
reducing the cost of ownership while fulfilling or even exceeding certain pre-defined criteria
of acceptable quality standards.
(Tiwari & Herstatt, 2012, p. 98)
These “good-enough” solutions (Zeschky et al., 2011, p. 38) are mainly character-
ised by a concentration on core functionalities, an optimised performance level and
significantly reduced costs (Weyrauch & Herstatt, 2016). Since, the global economic
middle class grows quickly in major economies in India and China (Ernst & Young,
2015) and the emerging global middle class has specific expectations when it comes
to affordability of products, frugal innovation might play an increasingly important
role for firms. However, Western organisations have traditionally neglected the busi-
ness opportunities provided by catering cost-conscious customers with affordable
solutions that fit local needs (Prahalad & Hart, 2002). Indeed, frugal innovation
scholars suggested that:
Western companies must change their mindset and see low-income populations as potential
markets that offer great business opportunities for the right products.
(Zeschky et al., 2011, p. 43)
Innovation Mindsets 17
Correspondingly, Soni and Krishnan (2014) propose a typology that divides fru-
gal innovation into a frugal outcome, a frugal process and a frugal mindset. The
question of a frugal outcome received substantial scholarly attention and research-
ers suggested various definitions for frugal innovations, such as “high-end low-cost
technology products” (Ojha, 2014, p. 8), “high-value, low-cost, and scalable prod-
ucts” (Ahuja, 2014, p. 55) or as “meeting the desired objective with a good-enough,
economical means” (Soni & Krishnan, 2014, p. 31). In that regard, Weyrauch and
Herstatt’s (2016) conceptualisation proposing three clearly defined criteria (substan-
tial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities and optimised performance
level) seems to establish a consensus around the question of a frugal outcome (Pisoni
et al., 2018). However:
Addressing this apparent research gap and investigating how firms can minimise
the use of material and financial resources along the entire value chain (Tiwari &
Herstatt, 2012), Knizkov and Arlinghaus (2020) recently provided a deeper under-
standing about the frugal process perspective. According to Knizkov and Arlinghaus’
(2020) multi-method study, frugal processes indeed concern distinct processes along
the entire value chain, product development, procurement, production and distribu-
tion. To be characterised as frugal processes, value chain activities need to minimise
waste creation, be facilitated by technology, simplified, self-sustaining, localised and
collaborative, they are often focused on the bottom of the pyramid populations and
they are iterative as well as aiming at continuous improvement (Knizkov & Arling-
haus, 2020, p. 681). In that sense, frugal processes strongly resemble the three criteria
offered by Weyrauch and Herstatt (2016).
Nevertheless, while a consensus around the frugal outcome seems to be estab-
lished and more insights regarding the frugal process are offered, the mindset-based
perspective remains understudied. Correspondingly, Pisoni et al. (2018) suggest that
organisational issues and collaboration among actors in the frugal innovation process
are underexplored. This is surprising, because motivated leaders who are committed
to realising the economic potential offered by frugal innovation can have a catalysing
role on frugal innovation projects (Ramdorai & Herstatt, 2015) and employees rely
on the support of their superiors to implement frugal innovation projects (Krohn &
Buse, 2019). Hence, we aim to shed light on the mindset-based perspective of frugal
innovation and provide a deeper understanding of why managers and employees
engage in or support frugal innovation projects.
As our study conceptualises individuals’ mindset as a dynamic and process-wise
developing phenomenon, we believe that different mindset facets have to be defined
18 Malte Krohn and Cornelius Herstatt
a cognitive orientation, which is characterized by the belief that offering innovations with a
substantial cost reduction, a concentration on core functionalities and an optimized perfor-
mance level provides viable business opportunities and that the individual and organization
is capable of taking the necessary actions to successfully develop these frugal solutions.
(Krohn & Herstatt, 2019, p. 172)
driven by the goal to offer innovations with a substantial cost reduction, a concentration
on core functionalities and an optimized performance level. This action focused cognitive
orientation is characterized by a tuning towards deepening the understanding of customers’
needs and contexts as well as creatively and efficiently using available resources to develop
frugal solutions.
(Krohn & Herstatt, 2019, p. 172)
In that sense, the deliberative frugal mindset is motivational in nature and is preceded
by goal elaboration-specific processes of desirability as well as feasibility considera-
tions. Thus, it can be operationalised by applying Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned
behaviour (TPB) (Krueger, 2007; Delanoë‐Gueguen & Fayolle, 2019). We will now
discuss how we developed our opportunity recognition model for frugal innovation
based on the TPB.
This section will briefly introduce the theory’s main variables and consequently
proceed to adapting them to the specific context of frugal innovation. Intentions
are “indications of how hard people are willing to try, of how much of an effort
they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behavior” (Ajzen, 1991, p. 181).
In turn, the stronger a behavioural intention, the more likely is an engagement in
actual behaviour. In that regard, Ajzen (2002a) suggests applying the principles of
compatibility and specificity/generality when defining the components of a TPB study.
Therefore, all constructs should be clearly defined with regard to target, action, con-
text and time of behaviour and intention (Ajzen, 2002a). This definition can then be
more specific (e.g. within the following two weeks) or general (e.g. at some point in
the future). Nevertheless, the level of specificity should be the same for all constructs
in the model to increase its predictive power (Ajzen, 2002a). The attitude towards
behaviour “refers to the degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable
evaluation or appraisal of the behavior in question” (Ajzen, 1991, p. 188). It usually
covers experiential and expectancy-value aspects (Ajzen, 2002a). Subjective norms
reflect the perceived social environment and its expectations towards performing a
behaviour or opposing it (Ajzen, 1991). This construct usually covers the degree to
which influential others are believed to perform a certain behaviour and the degree
to which they expect oneself to behave in certain ways (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005).
Besides the direction of expected support or objection, it also includes a person’s
motivation to comply to these expectations (Ajzen, 1991).
This is an interesting part of the theory because it shows that individuals’ oppor-
tunity recognition processes can be operationalised, but they inherently integrate a
social component. Additionally, PBC covers the perceived ease or hardship of per-
forming a behaviour under consideration (Ajzen, 1991). Accordingly, studies usually
include beliefs that address items that cover the control over performing a behaviour
under consideration and the ease or difficulty of performing a behaviour (Ajzen &
Fishbein, 2005). In the context of organisational innovation processes, the notion
of collective efficacy (Krueger, 2007; Bandura, 2000) is particularly noteworthy. In
dynamic organisational environments that depend on the interplay of various actors
for successful innovation (Gemünden et al., 2007), individuals need to be convinced
of the collective ability to realise desired outcomes. Lastly, scholars frequently in-
clude domain-specific background factors, such as education, socioeconomic as-
pects, emotions or previous experiences as antecedents to attitude, subjective norm
and PBC (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005). In some cases, scholars also diverge from the
established relationships of the TPB. For example, in the context of innovation
management, Bartl et al. (2012) have included management position and personal
innovativeness as predictor variables for behavioural intentions. Nonetheless, they
were not able to find significant effects of these variables on intentions.
While the TPB offers a suitable theoretical approach to operationalise desirabil-
ity and feasibility considerations prior to actually observable behaviour (Armitage &
Conner, 2001; Kautonen et al., 2013; Delanoë‐Gueguen & Fayolle, 2019), it requires
dedicated pilot work (Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen, 2002a). Therefore, we will now discuss how
we applied the TPB to the specific case of opportunity recognition for frugal innovation.
20 Malte Krohn and Cornelius Herstatt
Methodology
Proposing Gollwitzer’s (1990) mindset theory of action phases as a suitable the-
oretical perspective on the role of mindsets in innovative behaviour and Ajzen’s
(Ajzen, 1991) TPB as a suitable approach to operationalise opportunity recognition
processes for frugal innovation, the next section will derive a respective research
model. The TPB has facilitated empirical research in a variety of settings (Armit-
age & Conner, 2001), but it requires rigorous pilot work (Ajzen, 2002a), which has
not been previously conducted in the case of frugal innovation but is conducted in
the remainder of this chapter.
Following a theory-driven approach to scale development (DeVellis, 2016), we
applied a standard procedure applied in management research (Turker, 2009). Cor-
respondingly, we defined our constructs based on theoretical considerations and re-
view of the literature, generated items by conducting a systematic literature review
(SLR) (Tranfield et al., 2003) and refined our results in expert and academic focus
groups as well as small-scale pilot studies (Van Teijlingen & Hundley, 2002). Due
to the limited scope of this chapter, we will only provide a summary of our pro-
cess. More details about methodology, conceptual considerations, item generation
and refinement are provided in earlier contributions (Krohn et al., 2019; Krohn &
Herstatt, 2019; Krohn & Herstatt, 2018).1 At the point of writing this chapter, valida-
tion of our scales is still ongoing. Hence, we will not provide the preliminary scales.
Following Tranfield et al. (2003), we initially conducted an SLR of 95 publica-
tions in the domain of frugal innovation and related concepts to identify aspects
that potentially contribute to the deliberation process of employees’ and managers’
intentions to support frugal innovation initiatives. Discussing our initial model and
respective items in an expert focus group with 16 practitioners as well as an academic
focus group with seven researchers complemented our conceptual considerations.
Subsequently, we refined our model and measurement instrument in two small-
scale pilot studies (Van Teijlingen & Hundley, 2002). The first pilot study is mainly
built on eight semi-structured interviews among managers in two German multi-
national companies and aimed at testing practical issues as well as wording of the
items. The second pilot study was conducted among 36 managers and employees in
German manufacturing companies and aimed at testing and refining our measure-
ment models. The next section will present the derived research model and discuss
the relationships within the model.
Conceptual Model
A multi-stage procedure resulted in the conceptual model in Figure 2.1. As dis-
cussed, our research considers behavioural intentions as a proxy for the prevalence
of a deliberative frugal mindset. Accordingly, the cognitive procedures of desirabil-
ity and feasibility considerations are represented by individuals’ attitude, subjective
Innovation Mindsets 21
norm, collective as well as individual PBC and a premium innovation bias. The
premium innovation bias and two background factors emerged as an interesting ad-
dition to the model during the pilot studies and will be discussed in more detail. The
following sections will introduce the variables in more detail and provide arguments
for the suggested relationships within the model. Hence, it illustrates how mindset
research can be embedded into its socio-economic research context.
Intention
As behavioural intention serves as a proxy for the prevalence of a deliberative fru-
gal mindset, it needs to capture a breadth of relevant subsequent behaviours. For
example, Ramdorai and Herstatt (2015) find that committed leaders show various
supportive behaviours for frugal innovation projects, such as providing resources
and legitimising the radical cost focus of frugal innovation. Krohn and Buse (2019)
show that “front-line employees” are equally important because they need to con-
duct market research and develop innovative solutions for identified customer needs.
This resembles the discussion around innovative behaviour in general, which ac-
knowledges that it can be more passive or active in nature (Goepel et al., 2012),
different actors in the firm will take different roles in promoting innovative projects
(Gemünden et al., 2007) and employees rely on leadership support (De Jong &
Den Hartog, 2007). Furthermore, items in established measures for innovative work
behaviour cover facets, such as idea generation, idea exploration, idea champion-
ing and idea implementation (De Jong & Den Hartog, 2010). Hence, intention
22 Malte Krohn and Cornelius Herstatt
Attitude
In line with the TPB (Ajzen, 1991), the model assumes a positive attitude towards
frugal innovation to have a positive influence on forming behavioural intentions
that promote frugal innovation within firms. As previously discussed, this should
cover experiential as well as expectancy-value considerations (Ajzen, 2002a). With
regard to expectancy-value considerations, the literature offers various advantages
of frugal innovations, such as providing economic growth opportunities (Ray &
Ray, 2010; Banerjee & Leirner, 2014) by creating access to new markets (Govin-
darajan, 2011; Prahalad, 2006) and improving the efficiency of organisational in-
novation processes (Agnihotri, 2015). However, literature also acknowledges that
frugal innovation projects might come with a fear of cannibalising existing product
market shares (Immelt et al., 2009; von Janda et al., 2018; Winter & Govindarajan,
2015) and lower profit margins (Corsi et al., 2014; Lim et al., 2013). Hence, the
expectancy-value component of assessing new approaches to innovation might
depend on a deliberation of advantages and disadvantages (Bartl et al., 2012). Cor-
respondingly, salient advantages and disadvantages need to be considered in the
operationalisation of the attitude towards behaviour. For example, employees and
managers might be motivated or demotivated by experiential aspects of supporting
frugal innovation projects. Again, several measures should assess if organisational
members expect their behavioural engagement to be easy or difficult, pleasurable
or not, etc.
Subjective Norm
Furthermore, subjective norm was found to significantly influence behavioural in-
tentions in various contexts (Armitage & Conner, 2001). That is, if individuals ex-
pect influential colleagues and superiors to support their innovative behaviour, they
are more likely to form a behavioural intention (Bartl et al., 2012; Nedon, 2015).
Yet, it would also be interesting to integrate a measure of modelling behaviour of
important others, like discussed by Ajzen and Fishbein (2005). Do superiors and
influential colleagues personally engage in frugal innovation projects? Our model
assumes that a supportive perceived social environment positively contributes to
forming behavioural intentions. As frugal innovations concern the entire value chain
(Knizkov & Arlinghaus, 2020), various actors rely on mutual support and the exper-
tise of others. This should also manifest in the desirability and feasibility considera-
tion of organisational members.
Innovation Mindsets 23
Management Position
Considering the context of EDI, PBC is a particularly interesting construct. Natu-
rally, organisational members in higher hierarchical positions have more autonomy
in organisations. Here, the TPB offers a promising framework to quantify this au-
tonomy and identify critical barriers to innovative behaviour. Including individu-
als’ management position offers additional potential to understand the underlying
dynamics. Previous research included management position as a direct antecedent
to behavioural intentions in the context of innovation (Bartl et al., 2012), but found
no significant influence. Hence, our model assumes that management position is
rather a predictor of individual PBC, as shown in Figure 2.1. Therefore, individu-
als from higher managerial positions are expected to have higher individual PBC in
the context of innovation. While our model applies to the specific context of frugal
innovation, this combination of constructs is a promising avenue for research in the
EDI context.
Organisational members, with their cognitive schemata, learning habits, response patterns,
and so forth, do play a role in path-building processes in organisations.
(Sydow et al., 2009, p. 705)
has facilitated successful longitudinal research explaining the cognitive processes un-
derlying entrepreneurial behaviour (Delanoë‐Gueguen & Fayolle, 2019) and the
present study suggests that it can also be applied in the context of innovation. Just
like frugal innovation, EDI represents a specific socio-economic context in the field
of innovation management. Hence, we will now derive implications for future EDI
research and practice. Based on the discussion of this chapter, taking an “employee
innovation mindset” perspective could be an interesting avenue for future research.
How does such a mindset manifest among employees and managers in organisations?
Which previous experiences could jeopardise such a mindset? Accordingly, practice
could benefit from a more nuanced understanding of the cognitive processes under-
lying innovative behaviour in the context of EDI. In this regard, Jimmieson et al.
(2008) utilise the TPB to investigate employees’ intentions to support organisational
change. Correspondingly, this section explicates several interesting opportunities for
EDI research.
The conceptual model of opportunity recognition for frugal innovation could be
adapted for the case of EDI. Understanding how managers and employees relate to
EDI through their attitudes, subjective norms and PBC offers exciting insights on the
deliberation process towards engaging in and supporting employee-driven innova-
tion activities within organisations. Particularly, integrating the management position
variable as an antecedent to PBC would allow to quantify the impact of hierarchical
differences on employees’ innovative behaviour. However, like any TPB study (Ajzen,
2002a), this would require pilot work. For example, the premium innovation bias
construct is likely not suitable for the context of EDI. Bartl et al. (2012) and Nedon
(2015) conducted TPB studies in the innovation context and might offer further prac-
tical guidance. However, our research suggests that intention research is ultimately
limited in unravelling the complexity of behavioural interactions in organisational set-
tings. After all, TPB studies usually apply self-report measures and, thus, on individu-
als’ anticipation of future events. Therefore, our research speaks for an integration of
Gollwitzer’s (1990; 2012) mindset theory of action phases with intention research.
A respective research framework is illustrated in Figure 2.2.
Conclusion
Innovation is frequently conceptualised as a desirable organisational outcome or a
process of idea generation, development and implementation. However, ultimately,
innovative outcomes on the organisational level depend on innovative behaviour
of individuals (Schweisfurth & Raasch, 2020). To be fully understood, innovation
should be conceptualised as an outcome, a process and a mindset (Kahn, 2018).
Nevertheless, diverging conceptualisations across disciplines have contributed to the
fuzziness of mindset research (French II, 2016). Previous research found that this
fuzziness also applies to the field of innovation management (Krohn et al., 2021).
This study suggests that the domain of social psychology offers promising theories
to address this theoretical challenge. We call for the conceptualisation of mindsets in
the field of innovation management based on the mindset theory of action phases
(1990; 2012), complemented with Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour.
Hence, our research conceptualises individuals’ mindsets as adaptive, process-wise
developing phenomena. An innovation mindset, then, reflects individuals’ willing-
ness and ability to engage in the innovation process or support other organisational
members in doing so along the innovation process (Krohn et al., 2021). Taking the
example of FI, this chapter introduces the TPB as a suitable theory to operationalise
desirability and feasibility considerations of organisational members to engage in
the innovation process, as proposed by Krueger (2007). Building on previous aca-
demic literature (Goepel et al., 2012), the presented model offers a means to better
understand the cognitive processes determining individuals’ willingness to engage in
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
—Wa’tte? beefde ontsteld bange Plomp,.… watte sait tie?.… wa’
mo’k mi’ die tieme?.…
—Stil, dâ’ goane hullie, heeschte zachter Delker, sloan d’r bakkesse
in mekoar aa’s se je pikke.… aa’s hullie mi Kees an de stok kraige.…
steek ie hullie rejoal deur d’r donder.…
Plomp begreep niks van den kerel. Hij rilde van angst, en nattigheid
droop van z’n pet en haren den nek in. De wind joeg als ’n razende,
ongrijpbare reuzenstoet van dol-kermenden, langs z’n kop en in
kleeren, dat ie rilde tot op ’t gebeente. Huilen kon ie, grienen van
woede en angst, onbestemden angst, dat ie mee was gegaan, daar
nou zoo maar stond in ’t stikke duister, of ze ’m geblinddoekt hadden
en dwongen met stooten en boffen voort te gaan.—Piet en Delker
stonden ’n eind van elkaar af. Delker zweepte luchtigjes z’n teenen
door de lucht, in suisgeraas, tegen weer zachteren wind in.
Bij nieuwen zwenk stond hoog, in één weer, achterhoofd en arm van
Kees in ’t goudrood bevlamd. Hun schaduwen schommelden wijd
rond, telegraafpalig, mager-verrekt, als dronken silhouetten,
kruipend, inbuigend de wei langs, in kopstoot tegen glooiingen òp,
soms in één gebroken, al langer, bang-langer van lijf.—Dan in ééns
hield Kees in z’n stap, was er donker geschuifel, slopen de
schaduwen, korter fel-zwart op rossigen sneeuwgrond, als turend en
peinzend spel van schimmen, soms [233]plots, bij snelle lichtbak-
wending van Breugel, in donkere aardeworsteling elkaar
bevechtend. De stroopers-voeten sidderden in rossig licht,
verdwenen weer plots, als ander weibrok vergloeide, in gouïge
vochtdamping te trillen lag in vervliegende lichtbaan. Gejaagd, in al
sterkere schommeling zwierf de lichtbak voor ’t lijf van Breugel,
hijzelf in ’t donker, als levend, hijgend vuurbeest.—Onverwacht
blondden zacht, twee konijntjes in ’t licht. Stand hield de bak-drager.
Eén dierke zat rechtop, verbluft kijkend uit z’n rooiïge oogjes, als
blindgeworpen met helle lichtglansjes. ’n Poefknal galmde achter
hevigen windpats en angstige windhuil suisde om den loop-mond
van zijn geweer. Snel laadde Kees, ingedrongen z’n beenen,
vastgeplant in drassigen weigrond, schoot ie weer dat vuurvonken
zigzag bliksem-blauwig uit z’n loop kronkelend wegflitsten in den
dreignacht; liep ie door, snel in duizeling van licht om z’n voeten,
tusschen den zwaveligen kruit-stank van schotwalm. Zwaarder
knalde ’n schot, vergalmend nu wind uitgebulderd, klagelijk zacht
rond-doolde.—Koome was achterop gehold, om ’t geschoten wild te
grijpen. Konijntje, dat Kees ’t eerst geraakt had, kroop nog voort met
pieperige kreuntjes, langs sneeuwgrond in donkerend bloedspoor. In
wilden storm, voortstappend tusschen de zwabberende
lichtstroomen, die alweer andere hoeken induizelend, over de
snelstappende beenen heenschroeide, greep Klaas ’t weghinkend
konijntje. Geweldig, beefzwaar van hartstocht, duwde ie den kop in
z’n mond, beet ’t bloed-bespatte dierke met tandenhap den nek in.—
Nou was ’t afgemaakt, kon ’t den zak in. Snel bukkend en spring-
jolig, als ’n verhit dier, rende ie af op konijntje twee, door Kees
geraakt. Uit zijn strot gromde kwaadaardigen drift, als ’t zacht-
grommende keel-onweer dat ’n hond maakt vóór ie te blaffen dreigt.
—Kaik uit Plomp! ’t is hier heet … puur heet!… hullie loere van alle
kante t’glaik.…
Kees floot licht.… Dat kon ie niet langer verdragen.… Zacht seinde
Breugel hem terug, wachtend op windstootrust. Koome en Delker
hurkten vlak bij elkaar, zonder dat ze ’t wisten. Delker, hoorend vaag
signaal, sloop òp, stootend tegen Koome.… Alleen Piet en Plomp
durfden zich niet roeren van hun plaats. Want zeker had ie ’t
gevoeld, Plomp, dat ze an z’n beenen getrokken hadden.—
—Ikke hep g’n bek ope doan.… ik docht dá’ Piet roept.…
—Aa’s sullie tog van achtere komme.… gaif je hullie tog ’n poar
strieme.… daa’se veur meroakel legge.… da’ tuig.… op da’ terain.…
barstte Klaas uit.
—Joa, moar.… haperde stem-angstig Plomp, die niet wist, hoe zich
te verdedigen nou er geen koddebaiers op ’m gesprongen waren,
zich doodschaamde voor de kerels.… ze hadde main tog fideel beet
van ondere.…
Koome kon niet stil zijn. Plomp beefde als ’n aar.… Nou zag ie nog
niks.… aa’s tie nou moar van ’t pad weg snappe kon.…
—Hier Breugel.… hier Kees! jai ook ’n slok.…? sî heete suuker in.…
f’rvloekt lekker!.…
Bij ’n woest duinbrok, dat hoog lag, als donkere dreiging tegen éven
doorschijnenden luchtkring, morrelde Breugel weer aan z’n lichtbak,
gingen Delker en Kees ’m dekken. Plots schoot zoeklicht van fellen
reflektor over ’t sneeuw-modderig duinpad en hevig-hoog, in ’t licht,
rossig-goud bevoet, aan den top dampiger lichtgeel, onder helle-
zwart, drongen uit duistering de duinbulten òp, schuw aangegloeid,
omknellend aan alle kanten de donkere kereltjes. Als reuzige
mensch-stierruggen, hoog bijéén, stuttend elkaar dromden ze áán
tegen ’t kleine menschenstoetje in. En telkens uit anderen hoek, in
lichtslingering van bak, rugden ze op, zwijgend rond de kereltjes, nu
kleingeslagen tot dwergjes in ’t woeste licht, ’t ros-wilde licht, dat
éven gloeide over de opéen dringende, en starend-blinde,
besneeuwde minotaurus-kudde. [239]
Tien passen van Kees af, zat ’n konijn recht op, met trillenden
schrikstand van de lange stijve ooren, oogjes beduizeld van licht, z’n
gelig-wit bedonsd haarborstje bevend, pootje over z’n angstig
bewegelijk neusje te wrijven.
—F’rrek, juichte z’n stem; wat ’n lampies die vint hep.… f’rvloekt aa’s
ik nie docht daa’t ’n molshoopie was.… waa’n lampies!.…
—Hou je bek driftte Kees, die één loer was, elk grasje zag trillen, elk
plekje bewegen op het lichtbrok dat voor ’m uitcirkelde, in duizel.—
—Kristis, juichte gesmoord Klaas, nou he’k sain ook in de lampies,
twee langoore!.…
—Hoe loât is ’t, vroeg Breugel, doodop, zak-lap voor lichtbak éven
wegtillend om Koome te kunnen laten zien op z’n horloge.—
—Vaif uur, t’met Piet, aarzelde Klaas uit, bukkend in den gloei-
flakker van reflektor.—Van Ouwenoar lait op s’n ruggetje, lolde ie
voort, naar Hassel, die achter z’n hielen aanliep.
—Trug vraier?.… wai hebbe nog niks t’met, zei Klaas, stem-ontsteld.
—Ke nie dondere.… m’n vingers stoan aa’s hoakies.… ken gain
poot meer an de trekker sette.… en d’r komp tog g’n luis.…
hoeveul?.… [242]
Bij elkaar dromde ’t stoetje. Snel had Breugel z’n lichtbak gedoofd.
—Nou van Ouwenoar, lolde Klaas weer, nou mo’s je wete dá’ wai
hier stoane!.… op dâ terain ke je de paas nie merkeere poatertje?
zeg Breugel, jai nog ’n slok?.…
—Allo!.… kaik!.… woar sit je.… kom!.… ik sien hoarlie nie meer.…
skàr.…, nijdigde Piet, die geen weg wist en niet van den stoet af wou
dwalen.…
—Ze frete main heule tuin op.… die meroakels van k’naine, f’rleje
joar hebbe se main heule oogst f’rwoest.… die krenge.… om hullie
he’k nie betoale kenne.… die stinkpoone!—
—Nou, hitte Klaas, aa’s ’k half dood ben, goàn ’k se nog achter
skot.…
—Jai!.… jai!.… da’ doen jai veur je pelsier.… moar wai noakende
rotte.… wai hebbe ’r van te laie.… de groote heere hebbe d’r lol
van.… moar wai niks aa’s ongeluk en f’rdriet.… ’t is puur onhail!.…
Plomp dobberde weer mee in ’t duister, achter den zak van Breugels
lichtbak. Hij gromde in zichzelf, dat ie ’t nooit zou leeren. Nooit had ie
docht, dat ’t soo gevoarlik was. Nou aas tie doar nou wa’ mee mos
bai f’rdiene, kon is s’n aige wel ophange.…
Maar Klaas hoorde niet. Woest voelde ie nog in zich ’t genot van de
vorige week.…
—Of ie!.… éen hoas, mit s’n veurpoot d’r afdroaid.… [244]jemi!
kroemi!.… wa da’ kreng skreeuwde.… hai hep se rejoal d’r
afknepe.… de sprenkel!.… je had sain ’n smoel motte sien trekke.…
toen ’k sain de borst indrukt hep!.… Moar de strikke hebbe sullie
pakt.… sullie lagge op de loer.. en van Delker hebbe sullie de strikke
pakt.… en s’n spoor!.. da’ kuike hep ’n nieuweling meebrocht die in ’t
sand loope hep!.… doalik hadde se s’n spoor!.… hai hep achtien
doage had!.… wa’ ’n vuile hée?.… da’ heerskap van de droaibank.…
hee.… op da’ terain.…
—F’rrek,.… achttien doage? vroeg ongeloovig Delker.
—Nou wa’ sou ’t.… daa’s al drie keere.… dat ie ’n prent thuis
kraigt.… kè se waif an ’t beskot hange.… veur ’n pronkie.…
Piet en Plomp telden niet mee; wouen niks hebben. Piet vloekte.…
Nog nooit was ’t ’m zoo ellendig naar ’t hart geslagen, de kou en de
beroerderigheid. Was dat lol?.… hij rilde van koorts! Liever vaif steek
diep, elken dag, dan soo’n grap!.… Doorzogen was ie tot op z’n
huid. De eerste en laatste keer.… Jesis, wa’ begreep ie nou goed,
dat Kees d’r de pest an had. Kapot was die d’r van!.… Kapot.… en
de slaap duizelde in z’n kop.… Kloas was ’n kwoàje.… moar
Kees!.… Kees, gain stom woord had ie t’met teuge sain sait.…
Wind loeide nog maar bij eenzame vlagen zwaar bulderend achter
ze aan, uit ’t duister, al uit duister.…
[Inhoud]
III.
Zacht had Kees de deur van de klos gelicht en zachter nog stapte ie
binnen. Benauwing van duffen slaapstank wasemde uit ’t stikduistere
slaapkrot op. Hij rilde, z’n lijf dreef in nattig, drabbig vuil en z’n plunje
dampte regenlucht uit naar z’n hoofd. Onder het uittrappen, moeilijk
en hijg-zwaar, van z’n kleef-zuigende hooge schoenen hoorde ie
zwak-weeke stem van z’n vrouw slaperig zang-neuriën:
’n Wilde wrevel steeg ’m naar ’t hoofd.… f’rdomme was die maid nou
weer an ’t skreeuwe.… Nou da’ hai d’r juus tukke gong.… Was da’
nou nie moedwil van ’t waif.…
’n Stoot, dof-krakend tegen ’n kruk had ’t kindje weer uit den dommel
gescheurd. Krijscherig-scherp jammerde met langen kramphuil in
zuigelingdrift ’t kindje uit ’t donkere bedholletje.—Wimpie woelde
rond en-om, zonder wakker te worden.
Heviger gistte er razernij in Kees.… Hij zou d’r ’n pats tegen d’r kop
geven aa’s se nog ’n woord zei.…
Kees voelde dat ie z’n drift moèst temperen. Hij zou Ant en ’t kind
anders tegen elkaar plat slaan.…