From Problem Solvers to Solution Seekers: Dismantling Knowledge Boundaries at NASA

1. From Problem Solvers to Solution Seekers: Dismantling Knowledge Boundaries at NASA Hila Lifshitz-Assaf New York University

2. Literature Predicts Rejection and Boundaries Protection Organizational knowledge processes occur within clearly pre-defined and selectively permeable boundaries (Tushman 1977, Kogut and Zander 1992, Nonaka1994, Brown and Eisenhardt 1995, Hargadon and Sutton 1997,Orlikowski 2002, Hargadon 2003, O’Mahony and Bechky 2008, Levina and Vaast 2008) Knowledge boundaries are an important and contested area for R&D professionals (Allen 1977, Katz and Allen 1982, Dougherty1992, Szulanski 1996, Carlile 2002, 2004, Bechky2003, Kellogg, Orlikowski and Yates 2006, Monteiro, Mol and Birkenshaow 2011, O'Mahonyand Ferraro 2012) The sociological “boundary work” and professionalism literature predict fierce rejection and jurisdiction protection (Gieryn 1983, Abbott 1988, Lamont and Molnar 2002)

3. Re-examining the Literature The new paradigm of the Web is changing knowledge work and the permeability of multiple boundaries in important and unexplored ways (Jasanoff2004, Rabeharisoa and Callon2004, Evans 2009) A call to re-examine the literature(Benkler 2006, O’Mahoney and Lakahni 2011, Baldwin and Von Hippel 2011, Afuahand Tucci2012, Lakhani, Lifshitz-Assaf and Tushman 2013) Debunking the deterministic treatment of technology as determinant of social change(Sproull and Kiesler 1991, Barley 1986, Weick1990, Orlikowskiand Barley 2001, Orlikowski and Scott 2008) ?

4. In Contrast to Prior Literature, I Find “Knowledge Boundary Dismantling”

5. Professional Identity Work • Prior studies on identity threat (Elsbach2003) also predict rejection • Recently, the identity literature is shifting from viewing identity as relatively enduring to a dynamic view focused on identity work and construction processes (Ibarra 1999, Wrzesniewski and Dutton 2001, Pratt et al 2006, Kreiner et al 2006, Elsbach 2009, Petrigeleri 2011) • Adding a layer of meaning making (Weick 1996) to identity work

6. The transformation from Problem Solvers to Solution Seekers Professional Identity Elevating Clearly Predefined & Selectively Permeable Undefined & Constantly Permeable Knowledge Boundary Dismantling " It is a deep philosophy change, from being a problem solver to a solution seeker.... It is not only about the organizations [we work in]; this is how we have been trained ever since we are kids—to solve problems! To be the experts of a field and solve!" Pre Open Innovation Experiment Post

7. Longitudinal In-Depth Field Study 2009 2010 2011 2012 Pre Open Innovation Experiment Post

8. Data Collection 2009 2010 2011 2012 Pre Open Innovation Experiment Post

9. Experimental Results: A Scientific Breakthrough Results were successful beyond expectations: in a short amount of time and with few resources, 4 out of the 14 problems were solved successfully! A breakthrough, the “home run” solution: Predicting solar flares New combination: Resistive mechanism device New material from a different industry: Packaging food material for Mars Significantly improved optimization: ISS medical kit " This has spun up so fast here and has caught everyone off guard.... Turnaround time for a solution like this could take years!

10. The Day After: From Excitement to Resentment • Back in the organization: moving from experimentation to • integration Positive responses and resource dedication from NASA’s top management and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 2009 2010 2011 2012 " This puts you on the leading edge in many ways of all organizations in the world trying to figure out this open innovation perspective  It’s just another tool at your toolkit…” Pre Open Innovation Experiment Post

11. Challenging Knowledge Boundaries, in Turn, Challenged the Professional Identity • People come here to innovate...so it becomes quite a slap in the face when we see opportunities to use yet2.com and Innocentive.… It's extremely frustrating. The feeling of people… is now ‘What value am I?’ • It [open innovation] is such an anathema to what they were trained to do and what was modeled to do. • The history of the scientific method goes against it…. In our training, trying to • solve problems in the scientific method was: I take in all this information, I synthesize it, I do analysis and I come to some conclusion and so to reach out to other people to solve it, it’s like cheating! " " " Narrative analysis: clear hero figure Work artifacts Organizational ceremonies

12. Tensions Around Who Creates New Knowledge The open innovation model was challenging not only to how new knowledge is created but also to who creates new knowledge. Comparative narrative analysis Unclear hero figure: the Web? Clear hero figure: the “problem solver" Vs.

13. Identity protection work • I've been attracted to places that allow you to access a problem, come up with • a plan, and execute the solution…. To be able to think and solve greater problems, • if I can’t do it at NASA, what is keeping me from going somewhere else? • Identity elevation and reconstruction work • At the end of the day it’s about the big agenda vs. the personal one…Science is about finding the truth! " Emergent Professional identity work " " • The Next Rocket Scientist: YOU…Solving those mysteries has long been the domain of lab coat wearing scientists…However, with the advent of the internet, social web, and open source data, it has become possible for anyone to make scientific discoveries about our universe. " • The solution may come from your lab, from your collaborator, from an open innovation platform, you should not care, you are the solution seeker! Problem Solvers Solution Seekers

14. Knowledge Boundary & Professional Identity Work Emergent identity work " It is a shift from thinking ‘The lab is my world’ to ‘The world is my lab’ Pre Open Innovation Experiment Post

15. Knowledge Boundary Dismantling Work The Sandbox SP.ACE " • We are committed to openness as the starting point… we believe that transparency, collaboration and participation are vital to creating change…without openness, this multidirectional flow of ideas is all but impossible Dismantling was carried out despite the significant effort required Some even left their units to create a new one: “open innovation program"

16. Knowledge Boundary Dismantling Work " People say that they open the data but if no one can understand it, it’s not really open data! Members attempted to destroy all knowledge boundaries From open data: To open processes: New open R&D processes: perceived as “the information age revolution” Largest International Hackathon 2012 " It’s not enough to open one side of the funnel, we are still choosing and biased so we need to open the evaluation part as well

17. 13% 43% 30% 22% 33% 11%

18. Co-evolving Knowledge Boundary Dismantling & Professional Identity Elevating Professional Identity Elevating Undefined & constantly Permeable Clearly Predefined & Selectively Permeable Knowledge Boundary Dismantling 2009 2010 2011 2012 Pre Open Innovation Experiment Post

19. A new innovation and hero figure in narratives emerged She found this device on YouTube! This physician developed it for his private clinic in his garage… and it works! • The open source mindset transfers us from the innovation-resistant Not Invented Here attitude to Proudly Found Elsewhere " " Identity Elevation and Reconstruction: From “Solver” to “Seeker" New organizational ceremonies(2012)

20. Knowledge boundary dismantling work: • Organizational members no longer function as knowledge recombinators;they can also perforate and dismantle existing boundaries (Carlile 2002, Bechky 2003, Murray and O’Mahoney 2007, Levina and Vaast2005, 2008,) • Implications on knowledge related processes and capabilities (Afuja and Tucci2011, Tambe, Hitt and Brynjolfsson 2012, Levina and Fayard 2012, Lifshitz-Assaf 2013) • Professional Identity work: • Lacking research on identity processes, especially regarding relationships with other processes (Ibarra 1999, Pratt 2012) • Adding a layer of meaning making (Weick 1996) to identity work(Lepisto, Crosina and Pratt 2013) • Implications of the shift from problem solving to solution seeking: • Organizing for Innovation: attribution (Latour 79),incentives (Stern 2004) Theoretical Contributions " This is amazing innovation wise…but no one gets tenure from being a connector MIT RLE labs director " You mean people don’t go to work and post their challenges on facebook? Undergrad students, biology

21. Beyond R&D Organizational Members " " We have to get beyond the current system of information and delivery, the professorial “sage on the stage Thomas Friedman: The Professors’ Big Stage (2013) The journalist has not been replaced but displaced, moved higher up the editorial chain from the production of initial observations to a role that emphasizes verification and interpretation, bringing sense to the streams of text, audio, photos and video produced by the public. That is what we’ll aim to do, issue by issue. Columbia’s “Post-Industrial Journalism” report (2009)

22. Apollo 13 mission control room, 1970 Online innovation platforms, 2010 Thank you! Hila Lifshitz-Assaf H@nyu.edu New York University “Houston, we have a problem!” “Houston, we have a solution!”