Measuring innovation capability in exporting firms: the INNOVSCALE

Abstract

Purpose– The development of innovation capability is an important topic for both managers and academics. However, studies that investigate which elements integrate innovation capability in the context of export market are very scarce. Drawing on the resource-based view, the purpose of this paper is to identify important dimensions in order to build a scale to measure innovation capability in exporting firms – the INNOVSCALE.Design/methodology/approach– The study draws on data collected by online questionnaire in a sample survey of 471 exporting manufacturing firms. The results were obtained using structural equation modeling. Statistical tests demonstrate that the scale presents composite reliability as well as convergent and nomological validity.Findings– The findings reveal that innovation capability is a higher-order construct formed by four dimensions: product development capability, innovativeness, strategic capability, and technological capability. The results also indicate that all four dimensions of the innovation capability scale are positively and significantly associated with export venture performance.Originality/value– This study develops a new scale, the INNOVSCALE, which is a measure of innovation capability of exporting firms, and tests its impact on three measures of export venture performance, namely financial, strategic, and achievement.