engleski

Early warning systems in management

Innovation and the creation of new knowledge are key drivers for the success of organizations (Ilinitch, D’Aveni & Lewin, 1996 ; European Commission, 2010). Research differentiates between two types of innovations (Ettlie et al., 1984): Incremental innovations are characterized by only minor changes or improvements (e.g., adapting or adding small features), while radical innovations entail changes on a more fundamental level. In most cases radical innovations are not just linear extrapolations or adaptive extensions of past experiences, products, services, or business models, but rather fundamentally new and future- relevant/driven (Peschl & Fundneider, 2013). Radical innovations can open up completely new categories, new knowledge spaces, or even markets (O’Connor & DeMartino, 2006), however, it is unclear how they can be achieved (O’Connor & Ayers, 2005).Early-warning system is of great importance, specifically due to its possibility to improve organization’s performance. Few studies employ early-warning systems in the field of management. The aim of our study is to conduct literature review on early-warning management systems, to examine geographical area of the study, journal, where the article was published and areas in management where they are used and define critical factors of emergency, useful for early- management systems. The findings are based on meta-analysis. Content analysis of the articles was used to summarize and compare qualitative data. Results indicated that early- warning management systems are mostly used in the field of tourism, project and strategic management. Critical factors of emergency, useful for early- management systems, are management issues (experiences, strategic approach), rapid and instant response and early recognition of the problem. Contribution of our study is the widened understanding of usage of early-warning management systems and defining its critical factors of emergency. Further studies should be focused on deeper investigation of this topic and could include case studies of early-warning systems in management with qualitative data.

early-warning systems, management, crisis management, quality management, emergency

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