Exploring the Dimensions of Innovation Culture in the Public Higher Education Institutions: Towards Improved Organizational Performance in Research and Development

Abstract

This paper extends the concept of innovation culture to the academic organizations, particularly public higher education institutions (HEIs). Through a case study approach, a total of 40 individuals composed of research and development (R&D) managers and administrators, innovators, and faculty research personnel from four selected public HEIs participated in the in-depth interviews and FGDs. Institutional statements were also used as secondary data. Through synthesis of previous studies, we learned the different organizational, human, and collaborative dimensions of innovation culture, however in the context of private manufacturing organizations. Results revealed that in academic organizations like public HEIs, the aspects of innovation and the concept of innovation culture were embedded in the institutional statements as well as in the values of the participants. It was also found that innovation culture is a widely understood concept in terms of its attributes or building blocks. Through this study, we understood the importance of innovation culture in promoting performance amidst the challenges of doing R&D in public HEIs. We learned that creativity and flexibility, innovation resources, training and capacity development, and coaching and mentoring were the key elements of innovation culture that can help address the managerial and institutional challenges in doing R&D in academic organizations. Lastly, identifying and assessing the specific dimensions and elements of innovation culture in academic organizations as well as determining their impacts of innovation culture on research productivity in academic organizations were relevant research areas to explore in future studies.