Innovation and creativity versus control assessing the paradox in IT organizations

As a result of the increasingly turbulent environment of today, IT organizations face an important problem: on the one hand they have to control their activities, which requires a certain stability, on the other hand, they need to be creative and innovative, requiring a certain amount of autonomy, which in turn may result in instability. It is shown that control and creativity/innovation do not necessarily oppose each other. A model is presented that shows how the need for control and the need for creativity/innovation can be matched. Results from empirical research on the diffusion of CASE-technology are used to support and flesh out the model.<>