Human Element and its Relation to the Capabilities

A striking theme in the interviews was the human element, which seemingly played a role in facilitating EOI capabilities and the underlying processes. The human element was mentioned by five of the six respondents. The following results show the important role the human element plays in EOI, as it has the ability to stimulate the motivation, to strengthen the cooperation and to thus advance the radical innovation project. As the human element was not part of the initially designed framework and not part of the interview guide, it is considered a new insight.

8.2.1 Finding 15: Human element in EOI strengthens collaborations through visionary and passionate project champions who are driven by meaning

Michael in particular acknowledges the importance of considering the human aspects within extensive corporate collaborations, as these are often overlooked. By human aspects, he refers to visionary key actors who drive the project forward through their passion for sustainability. They strengthen the collaboration by creating a close-knit inter-organisational group of people, that are centered around meaning:

Michael: And then lastly, there's the very human aspect of it. And I think that's equally important and very easy sometimes to forget in these big corporate collaborations. We had a visionary founder, a great driving force, we had a very young and passionate staff, myself included. Meeting with people of truly visionary sustainable goals, such as Simon. People who could think of what the future of packaging might look like, but not necessarily implement it within a one- to two-year structure, such as Håkon. Having those types of project champions, both within Paboco, and within Carlsberg, really created this close-knit group that could foster this project internally and motivate everyone involved.

As illustrated by the quote above, the human element seemingly is an important aspect of the External

through meaning. The meaning is driven by the passionate project champions and manifests in intrinsic motivation and a shared vision of a sustainable future - on an organisational but also on a personal level.

The fact that there were people who really believed in the path of the project created a

Michael: It [the Green Fibre Bottle Project] has grown, it has taken its punches, but it has always kept forward moving momentum. So that driving force that goes behind that is really what you can attribute this to. Having people that truly believe that this is a path for the future on a personal and organisational level.

Håkon: I think that the main people, the core people, that were working on the project had a strong believe in the sustainability aspect of it. (...) There was a lot of passion and I think that was a big driver of the project that helped us move forward. Because we were working a lot for free and put in extra work although we didn’t get any credit from colleagues, really.

8.2.2 Finding 16: Human element in EOI strengthens collaborations through interpersonal relationships and supports the alignment of diverse partners

The human element was also brought up by Simon who highlighted the importance of the interpersonal relationships between Carlsberg and ecoXpac employees. This can further be seen linked to and be a part of enabling the External Engagement Capability as well as Value-Framing Capability. These interpersonal relationships - based on shared beliefs and values (similar professional identities) - built social capital and trust between the partners. As a result, partners reacted with empathy and understanding towards challenges the other partner was facing in reaching the expectations (value-frames) of the respective other partner.

Simon: And on a personal level, we [ecoXpac and Carlsberg] share very similar beliefs about how we see the future and how we think about sustainability. So that created a solid basis which enabled a good relationship.

Simon: One of the other things that played a big role were interpersonal relationships. Since the beginning Håkon and I have had a very open and very direct relationship with the ecoXpac company since the beginning, both with the CEOs and with the project managers. That this is something that is difficult to quantify in the traditional sense, but I think the interpersonal relationships, and the social capital and the trust that we built were so important. So whenever we were facing problems, we treated it as a team and we didn't start shooting at each other with unconstructive feedback. We always kept it very focused on the vision and we always knew that people were doing their best. So when they [ecoXpac] came to us and said, “Oh, by the way, regarding the recycled PT barrier that you requested to be transparent, because that's better for recyclability, the only recycled PT we can get for launch is green.” They came in said that two days before the launch and that was not so great (laughing) because from a sustainability perspective transparent polymer is much better because it can be recycled into many more things. So I didn't want green PT in my Green Fibre Bottle (laughing). But hey, I also knew that ecoXpac didn't do it to sabotage anything, it was just because that was the only thing which was possible at that moment.

8.2.3 Finding 17: Human element plays a role in fostering engagement around environmental flagship project and other sustainability initiatives internally

While the previous findings show how the human element played a role in the collaboration with

external partners, this finding shows how the human element plays a role in fostering internal support

and engagement in the Green Fibre Bottle project. As previously argued (see finding 10), the display

of the Green Fibre Bottle prototype in the office atrium spurred motivation among internal employees

and created enormous interest for the Green Fibre Bottle project and paved the way for other

environmental ideas and projects. Reportedly, employees felt proud to be a part of a company that has

sustainability at its core and that pushes the boundaries through radical innovations. Seemingly, this

flagship project and the meaning it entails plays a role in enhancing the professional identities of

Carlsberg employees and increases motivations to pursue sustainability. In other words, by being a

Carlsberg employee they are indirectly part of pushing the boundaries. Through the meaning that the

flagship project provides, employees are motivated and more open to engage in other environmental ideas and innovations. This is seen as evidence for the human element and its role in engaging internal

Sam: I also think that it influenced other departments to a degree. Everyone wants to get involved with sustainability. I think it inspires people and other departments to involve sustainability in their processes as well. They are proud and pleased that it is a point of difference that we have.

Simon: I think what became very clear to me with the Green Fibre Bottle project and the attention we got, was that it’s really, really good to have a flagship project to showcase what you are doing and what you are trying to do with regards to sustainability. Because nothing has communicated environmental responsibility to the general consumer and the general employee better than the Green Fibre Bottle project. People go like, “Wow, this is amazing! This is totally crazy”. Some people are sceptical and say that it’s never going to happen.

Other people say, “Wow, I am so proud to be working in a company that is pushing the boundaries.”(...) But for me personally, it has really shown the power of having a flagship project that is very close to what you do, your products. (...) I think that to some extent the awareness we generated, internally and externally, with the Green Fibre Bottle project might have paved the way for a lot of the other projects we then did because we got attention. Then suddenly we could start having discussions on recycled content in PET bottles and in plastic shrink wrap.

8.2.4 Finding 18: Human element plays a role in attracting partners through meaning As discussed in finding 3, the higher (sustainability) purpose of the project enhanced the Networking

expecting payment. This intrinsic motivation to join the project further symbolises the human element.

In other words, the intrinsic motivation by external partners to contribute to a better, more sustainable future played a significant role in attracting the right competencies and people:

Håkon: But we also got offers from other companies who really liked the idea and the concept so much that they kind of offered their help. Even private persons who were packaging specialists, which had similar ideas back then, were offering to work for free for us, because they really believed in this and its potential to change the entire industry for the better. So it was quite crazy how many people and organisations contacted us for the Green Fibre Bottle project.

8.2.5 Finding 19: Human element plays a role in starting the value-framing process

Having a deep understanding of not only the organisation but the individuals who are driving these

projects forward, is seen central in aligning diverse partners. Arguably this is important in the context

of value-framing which should be done not only on an organisational level but more importantly on a

individual (human) level. In other words, attention needs to be shifted from the organisation towards

Michael: Within this community of pioneers, we have four organisations, with completely different corporate cultures and completely different national cultures as well. So you have a really a great lot of alignment that needs to take place, just before you get into the heart of the project. So the first step of this innovation project, or this collaboration project in particular, is understanding, not only the whole organisation that's behind it, but specifically the people that you have within your network. In particular you need to understand those people that are fighting to make this a reality and their motivations. They need to coalesce into something more than just representatives of their organisation.

Michael: This would maybe be my final takeaway. So you don't need it [alignment] for the entire organisational culture of your partners, but you definitely need it within your project team.