Eric D Feil

Factors Affecting Innovation Within Aeronautical Systems Center Organizations: An Inductive Study Eric D Feil

In response to the Air Force transformation movement there is currently a lot of high level interest in instilling cultures that promote innovation and intelligent risk taking in Air Force organizations. This thesis analyzed data collected during the 2002 Chief of Staff of the Air Force Organizational Climate Survey to identify factors that affect innovation within Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) organizations. A secondary purpose of this study was to identify current enablers or barriers to innovation within these organizations. The first part of the study utilized multiple linear regression to identify the factors within the survey that were most related to the questions that measured innovation. These results were used to form propositions about factors that affect innovation within ASC organizations. The second part of the study utilized content analysis techniques on the comment section of the survey to identify current trends that may be enabling or blocking innovation within the participating organizations. The results of the study include seven propositions about factors that influence innovation that can be tested in follow-on research and several trends that provide insight into ASC personnel's thoughts on innovation at the time that the survey was administered.