Voice as a catalyst: driving innovation and responsiveness in humanitarian operations

Humanitarian organizations face the ongoing challenge of adapting and innovating under time constraints, limited resources, and the critical need to save lives. Operations Management research has traditionally studied innovation in this domain from a top-down approach (e.g., by examining the introduction of innovative systems and technologies), but the field lacks a bottom-up perspective on innovation (i.e., arising from human ingenuity in response to challenges). Specifically, we focus on how an organization’s capacity for innovation can stem from an interaction between team members’ voices (i.e., the exchange of ideas and constructive criticism) and how that positively affects the adaption of humanitarian operations. Using a mixed-method approach, we conducted a survey with 217 representatives from humanitarian organizations, followed by 35 qualitative interviews with individuals working in a rescue organization. Our survey reveals a positive interaction between innovation and voice, which in their interplay is associated with better responsiveness in humanitarian operations. Our qualitative research adds nuance to these findings by underscoring that the impact of voice can be counterproductive if leaders feel overwhelmed and decide to reject input to maintain organizational order. Taken together, both studies highlight the balance that decision-makers must strike: carefully listening to frontline workers while implementing strategies to prevent an excess of voices from impeding progress in a challenging environment.