Motivation in Ebay's Innovation Program
Abstract
This paper examines SPARK, eBay’s current innovation program, as a platform to collect and develop innovative ideas generated by current employees. Some employees at eBay expressed that they found it difficult to track and implement their ideas through SPARK. We feel the current SPARK program does not fully offer eBay the innovative advantage for the future. In our research, we employed two primary methodologies: (1) in-depth interviews with relevant employees and (2) quantitative surveys. Data was then analyzed using the STAR typology and Expectancy theory as frameworks. While at first we sought to propose a whole new innovation program for eBay, our research has proven that there is more value in the current program than we had realized and it has completely changed our point of view about the role of an innovation program in an organization.
Statement of the Concepts
There are two primary management concepts that we utilized in this study: the STAR typology and Expectancy theory. Each concept provides a framework that will support our analysis.
The STAR typology is a sorting tool that can be effectively used as a guide to organizational analysis. The STAR typology recognizes an organization as a system with five different but interrelated areas: People – the individual or group aspects within the organization, Infrastructure/Systems – the policies and procedures in place, Technology – the methods and tools used to do the work, Structure – the chain of command that forms the organization, and Context – the environmental aspects that affect the organization’s strategy and economic outlook. Given the complexity of organizations, change in one area requires adjustments in others and changes cannot happen all at once1.
Expectancy theory is a theory of human motivation. The theory seeks to explain the cognitive process of how a person selects one behavior over another behavior(s). Expectancy theory was developed by Victor Vroom in 1964 through his
This paper examines SPARK, eBay’s current innovation program, as a platform to collect and develop innovative ideas generated by current employees. Some employees at eBay expressed that they found it difficult to track and implement their ideas through SPARK. We feel the current SPARK program does not fully offer eBay the innovative advantage for the future. In our research, we employed two primary methodologies: (1) in-depth interviews with relevant employees and (2) quantitative surveys. Data was then analyzed using the STAR typology and Expectancy theory as frameworks. While at first we sought to propose a whole new innovation program for eBay, our research has proven that there is more value in the current program than we had realized and it has completely changed our point of view about the role of an innovation program in an organization.
Statement of the Concepts
There are two primary management concepts that we utilized in this study: the STAR typology and Expectancy theory. Each concept provides a framework that will support our analysis.
The STAR typology is a sorting tool that can be effectively used as a guide to organizational analysis. The STAR typology recognizes an organization as a system with five different but interrelated areas: People – the individual or group aspects within the organization, Infrastructure/Systems – the policies and procedures in place, Technology – the methods and tools used to do the work, Structure – the chain of command that forms the organization, and Context – the environmental aspects that affect the organization’s strategy and economic outlook. Given the complexity of organizations, change in one area requires adjustments in others and changes cannot happen all at once1.
Expectancy theory is a theory of human motivation. The theory seeks to explain the cognitive process of how a person selects one behavior over another behavior(s). Expectancy theory was developed by Victor Vroom in 1964 through his