Title: Empathic facilitation in innovation: combining diagnostic and dialogic practices

Authors: Tero Montonen; Päivi Eriksson; Hanna Lehtimäki

Addresses: Business School, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland ' Business School, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland ' Business School, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland

Abstract: This paper focuses on empathy as a central but little researched aspect of the innovation process. We extend the discussion on innovators' empathy towards customers by adding a new angle: facilitators' empathy towards innovators. We elaborate on this new angle through the concept of 'empathic facilitation', which draws on a combination of diagnostic and dialogic organisation development and facilitation practice. Through an intensive case study, we show that empathic facilitation is a key element in the innovation process when using empathy as a vehicle for rapid, customer-oriented innovation. The findings indicate that while dialogic practice is a cost-effective way to strengthen and maintain customer perspective in the innovation process, diagnostic practice is required to increase the speed of the innovation process.

Keywords: empathic facilitation; diagnostic practices; dialogical practices; innovation process; fuzzy front end; FFE; innovation empathy models; cognitive empathy; affective empathy; helping behaviour; customer-oriented innovation; rapid innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2015.071100

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2015 Vol.21 No.1/2/3, pp.83 - 97

Published online: 12 Aug 2015 *

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