Innovation climate: A systematic review of the literature and agenda for future research

Abstract

Over the last two decades, we have witnessed growing empirical research on the concept of innovation climate at both the team and organizational levels. This article systematically reviews the literature surrounding the concept, focusing on its antecedents and outcomes, and empirical work where it has been treated as a moderator. Based on the review, we propose an agenda for future research that highlights the need to incorporate alternative theoretical perspectives to enhance our understanding of the innovation climate concept and its impact in driving team‐ and organizational‐level outcomes. In addition to theoretical future research strands, we also highlight opportunities for empirical advancement of the field. In particular, we highlight the need to examine the negative influence of innovation climate, adopt a more dynamic approach to examine how innovation climates develops over time, and explore the influence of cultural and institutional factors on the development of innovation climate.Practitioner Points Innovation is essential for organizations wishing to remain competitive and thrive in the highly competitive global marketplace. This study consolidates the insights from prior research linking leadership and team/demographic/workplace characteristics to both the team innovation climate and the organizational innovation climate. Understanding innovation climate provides practitioners with insight into the levers they may utilize to encourage innovation within the organization. In addition, the outcomes of innovation climate are synthesized in this paper which provides practitioners with insight into the expected benefits of focusing on developing a climate for innovation.