%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2012 %T Managing Innovation under Time Pressure: A Practical Perspective %A Blair Winsor %K consultancy %K innovation %K practice-based approach %K time %X This article examines the effects of time pressure on innovation. Does time pressure stimulate or eliminate innovation or, in other words, should managers increase or reduce time pressures if they are trying to enhance innovation in their firms? Unfortunately, current research on the subject is ambivalent. To provide some clarity, this innovation management dilemma was examined in a fast-growing, medium-sized communication and IT consultancy (“First”), which claimed to be “highly innovative”. Detailed data on five projects was collected over an 18-month period using practice-based methods. Each project team was followed in real time via observation and interviews. The data was then analyzed by dividing project work into three phases: i) negotiating the project particulars with the client; ii) conducting project work; and iii) project evaluation. This detailed analysis revealed how time pressures eliminated innovation in First’s client-based project work and suggested three implications for the management of innovation. Firstly, managers should try to avoid imposing excessive time pressures on their project teams. Secondly, they should ensure that there is space between projects to enable reflection. Thirdly, managers should ensure that project debriefs occur and that they cover potential innovations. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 2 %P 5-9 %8 08/2012 %U http://timreview.ca/article/593 %N 8 %1 Edinburgh Napier University Blair Winsor is a full-time lecturer in Edinburgh Napier University’s business school in the United Kingdom and currently teaches in the innovation management and entrepreneurship areas. He received his PhD from the University of Warwick's Business School where he studied innovation in consultancies. Blair also has an MBA from SDA Bocconi in Italy and a law degree from the University of Ottawa in Canada. He has had business and consultancy experience in both the United Kingdom and North America. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/593