The anatomy of the innovative organization: A case study of organizational innovation within a military structure

As the U.S. national debt clock surpassed ;In our study, we set out to understand how a public sector organization can be innovative. What is the anatomy of innovative organizations within the seeming rigid military structure? Some argue that innovation within such entity could conflict with more traditional values of public service such as due process, accountability, central control, and discipline (Borins, 2002). Many observers believe that military organizations have an inherent tendency toward conservatism and preference for certainty instead of risky ventures and innovations (Borghard, 2010). However, existing literature suggests that it is possible to innovate and innovations are occurring within public sector including military organizations. Additionally, Borins' (2002) study found quantitative evidence that suggests that bottom-up innovations occur more frequently in public sector organizations than most people believe.;We selected the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL), a division of Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), for its innovative establishment of the Forensic Science Academy (FSA) for this action research study. The CIL is considered the largest leading-edge research institution in the field of forensic anthropology, a discipline for human identification based on skeleton remains (Holland, 2011). We applied a theoretical framework derived from studies of innovative public and private sector organizations towards our case study to examine the CIL. Our analysis focused on three internal organizational antecedents that characterize innovative organizations.;Research questions. (1) Why is the CIL considered as an innovative organization? (2) Does the CIL posses three key internal antecedents of an innovative organization? (a) Individual attributes of the members and innovators; (b) Role of leaders and leadership attributes; (c) Organizational climate (a composite of structure and culture).;This study demonstrates that an organization within a seemingly rigid bureaucratic structure and system---such as the military---can innovate and can be an innovative organization given the `right' set of internal antecedents is present. For leaders of public sector entities, including administrators of K-12 school systems and higher education institutions, with an increased need to create more innovative organizations, this study provides an additional case study and a model for such endeavors.