Innovation in a regional co-operative financial services organization: Managing conflict to optimize innovation implementation

This study addresses innovation within the context of a regional co-operative financial services organization and establishes the relationship between the effective management of conflict and successful innovation implementation.; The study combined primary research undertaken in a specific regional credit union with best practices as documented in the literature to formulate recommendations for improved innovation implementation in the credit union.; This project was a participatory action research project. The primary research involved interviews or self-administered questionnaires with 88 directors, managers, and employees of the credit union under study.; A distinguishing characteristic of this study was the consideration of innovation within a co-operative context and how being a co-operative may influence both the choice of innovation initiatives and how they would be implemented.; The study concluded with sixteen recommendations specific to the credit union being studied, although many of those recommendations would likely have some applicability to organizations with similar contexts.