Investigating innovation champions in the nonprofit sector

Innovation champions are critical actors driving and facilitating organisational innovation. But despite this largely universal recognition that champions contribute positively to innovation outcomes, empirical substantiation remains limited. In particular, extant research is dominated by large, for-profit organisational contexts and on bottom-up championing, despite recognition that contextual variation will likely drive different champion behaviours and outcomes. This thesis extends champion investigations by exploring this phenomenon more broadly to include top-down and bottom-up champions operating in the unique but under-explored nonprofit sector. Importantly, this research answers calls to better understand the role of context in shaping championing at both organisational (leadership and culture influences) and sectoral (nonprofit) levels. Specifically, champion behaviours, motivation and impact are investigated in small and medium sized human services nonprofit organisations. A qualitative, case study methodology was employed, with six cases selected to deeply explore top-down and bottom-up championing within different organisational contexts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with multiple organisational respondents per case to capture a breadth of perspective on championing and context. Empirical findings indicate similarities, and important differences, with extant champion literature. In particular, the greater external focus of championing, which related to idea generation, persistence, connectivity and influence is a novel finding and extends the literature beyond an intra-organisational focus. Further, champion motivation was found to be more nuanced than previous studies reflect, adding a significant contribution to champion and nonprofit literature. In terms of impact, champions drove important innovative projects, but also engendered critical organisational, and in some cases sectoral change, findings which challenge a relatively narrow focus on what champions achieve. Both sector and organisational level context importantly shaped championing, both constraining and facilitating behaviour. Overall, this research presents important practical recommendations regarding champion identification, support and training, as well as new theoretical insights and future research opportunities.