Hacking Hackathons: What Can We Learn from the Burgeoning Phenomenon?

Modern organizations require faster solutions to solve unanticipated problems and seize unforeseen opportunities in critical spans of time. Recently, hackathons have become a prevalent way of tackling these challenges and organizing for innovation. While the phenomenon of hackathons is flourishing, scholars of organizational studies have yet to closely study them. Hackathons raise many interesting theoretical questions and provide a fascinating and fruitful context for organizational research. This symposium highlights four studies which explore hackathons as a context for theoretical advancement and demonstrate the important research that can emerge from studying hackathons. These papers tackle questions such as: How is it possible for new products to be developed in just 72 hours in this new way of organizing? How can organizations execute hackathons as a part of an open innovation strategy? What role do hackathons play in the formation and emergence of new fields like digital health? This symposium promises to explore the characteristics and dynamics of bringing together diverse individuals to participate in innovation work at hackathons. Importance of Breaking Instead of Compressing Time: A Study of Accelerated Innovation at Makeathons Presenter: Hila Lifshitz-Assaf; New York U. Presenter: Sarah Lebovitz; New York U. Presenter: Lior Zalmanson; New York U. Speeding Up Innovation With Business Hackathons: Insights Into Three Case Studies Presenter: Christopher L. Tucci; Imperial College Business School & EPFL Presenter: Myrna Flores; - The Relational Dynamics of Field-Configuring Events in Field Emergence: The Case of Digital Health Presenter: Karl-Emanuel Dionne; HEC Montreal Presenter: Paul R. Carlile; Boston U. “I Might Need Security”: How Values of Utility and Novelty Impact Team Creativity. Presenter: Wayne Johnson; Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Presenter: Wesley Sine; Cornell U.