In large organisations, creative work is often stifled by rigid processes and risk-averse cultures. The collaborative middleground offers an alternative in the form of a safe, semi-structured space where new ideas can emerge and where diverse actors can work together in new ways.”
Dr Nadine Scholz, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, King’s Business School
16 June 2025
Study reveals how halting the hierarchy helps managers and employees break barriers to innovation
Experts at King’s Business School examine how structured collaboration spaces help teams overcome disconnected hierarchies and unlock creativity.
Businesses striving to foster innovation amid hybrid working and short-term pressures may be missing the benefits of structured, collaborative spaces where employees and managers co-create ideas.
New research from King’s Business School introduces the concept of the ‘collaborative middleground’, a space inside large organisations where traditional hierarchies are temporarily suspended, allowing cross-level teams to develop new ideas in a safe and creative environment.
Drawing on a detailed case study of a self-organised innovation initiative called Shark Tank within a global personal care firm, the study shows how employees and senior managers jointly created a parallel process for innovation, enabling new ideas to surface, develop and gain traction.
Through voluntary participation, creative pairings and playful structures inspired by the TV show of the same name (the American franchise of the international format Dragons' Den), participants were able to pitch, prototype and refine innovations outside formal product development cycles.
The research highlights three key mechanisms that enable these spaces to flourish, introducing rules of playfulness, promoting positive emotional and social interactions and nurturing cognitive engagement through feedback and shared ownership. In several cases, creative pairs built stronger collaborations through overcoming challenges together, even more so than through early successes.
As hybrid work continues to reshape organisational culture, the study points to the importance of designing deliberate spaces for innovation that go beyond digital tools or ad hoc brainstorming.
Our findings are especially relevant for businesses preparing for the challenges of AI, sustainability and cross-functional innovation. Innovation needs structure but also safety, autonomy and the freedom to experiment.”
Professor Marcela Miozzo, Professor of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, King's Business School
Our research highlights how structured collaboration spaces can bridge hierarchical divides, fostering innovation through mutual trust and shared ownership. By creating environments where managers and employees co-create, organisations can unlock creative potential that traditional structures often suppress.”
Dr Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O, Senior Lecturer in International Management, King's Business School
The study, titled The Collaborative Middleground: How Employees and Managers Co-create Novel Ideas, is published in Research in the Sociology of Organizations.
In this story
Senior Lecturer in International Management
Professor of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship