Innovation Performance Research Articles

Effects of entrepreneurial bricolage on innovation performance and firm performance: perspectives from Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

PurposeThe study constructs a novel theoretical model based on resource orchestration theory and examines it using data from Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachEntrepreneurial bricolage (EB) represents a creative mechanism by which SMEs navigate resource challenges to become competitive. The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between EB to both innovation performance and firm performance among manufacturing SMEs in Ghana. In addition, we also examine the mediating role of polychronicity in the relationship between EB, innovation performance and firm performance.FindingsThe results suggest that EB positively and significantly influences both innovation performance and firm performance. Furthermore, polychronicity partially mediates the relationship between EB and innovation performance and between EB and firm performance.Originality/valueThis study enhances our understanding of the conditions under which EB may facilitate the attainment of innovation and firm performance among manufacturing SMEs. These findings also proffer practical and managerial implications for managing SMEs under resource constraints.

The Mediating Impact of Organizational Innovation on the Relationship Between Fintech Innovations and Sustainability Performance

The paper explores the impact of digital payment systems, blockchain technology, and AI/machine learning on innovation and sustainability in financial organizations. As part of the analysis, the study has adopted an explanatory research design and has used SmartPLS in order to analyze the data collected from 230 professionals of different fields through a structured questionnaire. The results show positive effects of digital payment systems and blockchain technology on organizations’ innovations with the impact of digital payments being the most pronounced. Empirical results suggest that these technologies are important to improve sustainability performance, depending on measures of internal consistency and discriminant validity among the proposed constructs. Al, also machine learning, has the highest relevance with environmental sustainability, thereby underlining the importance and work of such measures. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory, the study also explains the need for the organization to assimilate these innovations to enhance the organizational operations, customer satisfaction, and compliance with the laws. The study highlights fintech’s potential to address environmental issues and enhance societal goals, but geographical limitations may obstruct its transportability.

Leveraging Six Values for Company Performance: Adaptation of Sustainable Business Model Innovation Strategies in Chinese Electric Vehicle Brand Enterprises

Business model innovation is crucial for enhancing company performance. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the six dimensions of sustainable business model innovation and company performance among Chinese electric vehicle brands. A structural equation model is constructed based on a comprehensive literature review and hypothesis development. Using PLS-SEM, this study empirically analyzes questionnaire data collected from the top 12 electric vehicle brands in China to explore the relationship between these six core dimensions and company performance. The results indicate that innovation in “value proposition to customers”, value creation, value delivery, and “value of residual” have a significantly positive impact on the performance of Chinese electric vehicle brands. However, value capture innovation and “value of after-sales service” innovation were not found to be statistically significant. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the mechanism through which sustainable business model innovation impacts company performance, enriching the theoretical foundation of academic research in this field and broadening its practical applications in management.

Contribution of R&D grants and investment to the commercialization of innovations in Uganda: Lessons from UNCST a science granting council

The Government of Uganda (GoU) has prioritized Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) in its pursuit of a knowledge-based economy. While scholars have identified a positive association between innovation investment and performance, the role of R&D grants and investment in the commercialization of innovations and their influence on innovation performance require further clarification. The objective of this study is to examine the contribution of R&D funding and investment to the commercialization of innovations in Uganda. A qualitative research method was employed using case study and interview approaches. This method involves gathering various types of evidence including document reviews, field visits, and interviews with key informants and focus groups. Data analysis was conducted by matching themes derived from document reviews, case studies, and interviews. The study findings highlight the need for GoU to prioritize institutional development, address structural problems to innovation input, promote talent flow, and rationally build regional knowledge value chains to improve innovation and commercialization efficiency. The Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) must maintain momentum in gathering STI indicators to support the evidence-based formulation of effective STI policies. This study provides theoretical and policy-oriented insights by emphasizing the significance of R&D funding and investment in facilitating the commercialization of innovations in Uganda.

Investigating the Influence of Gender Diversity and Management Practices on the Introduction of Innovation in CEE countries

The role of management in any organizational context is to identify and exploit positive influences and opportunities that lead to the achievement of business objectives and competitive advantage. Those involved in effective management should be able to define the factors that have a decisive influence on the innovative activity of the enterprise. The identification of these influences is a key source of knowledge for defining or adjusting corporate strategies, resulting in long-term benefits and effective business development. As the market is constantly evolving, businesses must adapt to it. In recent years, researchers and experts have paid considerable attention to the study of gender issues in various areas of management. Much of the existing research has shown a positive correlation between gender diversity and innovation in developed countries. However, empirical studies in transition or developing countries remain limited. Therefore, we focus on Central and Eastern European countries. Based on regression analysis of data from the large-scale WBES survey, the aim of the study is to identify the relationships between gender structure of management, management practices and innovation. Unlike previous studies, this study uses a management practices index that combines data from eight indicators of management practices and assesses how well they are structured. This study thus enriches the ongoing research on the impact of gender and the structure of management practices on innovation in the EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe. The contribution of this study lies in the analysis of several different types of gender diversity and a composite index of managerial practices in relation to firms' innovation performance, and the specific context of the analysis in Central and Eastern Europe countries may provide new insights, as different factors affect innovation performance in these countries than in their Western counterparts. The results of this research provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics between gender diversity in management and innovation, which could provide a basis for the development of policies and corporate strategies to promote diversity and innovation in the business environment of Central and Eastern Europe countries.

Rethinking the Role of Knowledge Sharing on Organizational Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services

AbstractWhen implementing the knowledge-based view on organizations, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the organizational performance. Current research on organizational performance is often fragmented into partial facets leaving the complexity of this domain out of picture. The aim of the paper is to examine the relationship between knowledge sharing and organizational performance, comprising innovativeness, market efficiency, and financial performance. We used partial least squares structural equation modelling on profit-oriented organizations in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). The sample consists of 237 observations based on a two-round questionnaire survey, which was distributed to randomly selected companies in the Czech Republic. The results suggest that knowledge sharing between managers and employees enhances organizational performance. Organizations with such kind of knowledge sharing nurture both horizontal and vertical information flow, which in turn fosters innovativeness. Sharing knowledge as a part of work duties are key activities to increase market efficiency and innovativeness. Conversely, the model indicates that despite developing collectivism through sharing best practices and feedback, there is a minimal impact of knowledge sharing on financial performance.

Unlocking the buffering role of total quality management: how organisational intangible resources shape innovation performance in dynamic and uncertain environments

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how total quality management (TQM) buffers the adverse effect of market dynamism (MKD) on banking industry innovation performance (INP) using resource-based theory. Design/methodology/approach This paper creates and explores a conceptual framework by evaluating the perspectives of 260 chief executive officers from the different branches of 21 ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS-accredited banks over two time periods. The product indicator approach was used in the moderation analysis, with a path being significant at 5% (t > 1.96). The study used support for innovation, innovative leadership, strategic agility and slack resources as control variables for INP. The analysis was done using SmartPLS version 4.1.0.6. Findings As hypothesised, MKD had a significant and negative influence on the INP (ß = −0.326, t = 5.341). TQM neutralised MKD’s negative impacts on INP in a positive and significant manner (ß = 0.127, t = 2.680). Research limitations/implications This study paves the way for upcoming research to explore how TQM may improve INP in the presence of other adverse environmental dynamics like technological dynamism, competitive intensity and government regulation in the banking industry. External trends may have a different impact on other industries, necessitating additional research in these areas. Practical implications Bank managers can manipulate the TQM strategy to shape INP, thereby revealing TQM’s strategic value. Top management teams may consider prioritising and allocating more resources to TQM initiatives. Banks that successfully use the TQM methodology are able to turn a dynamic and uncertain environment into opportunities for growth and differentiation. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to display how TQM buffers the detrimental impact of MKD on INP. It offers a first attempt at challenging previous studies that had somewhat assumed that MKD encourages banks to be innovative, proving them otherwise, changing the narrative of the literature and stimulating further debate.

Socially responsible human resource management and employee innovation performance: the roles of person-organization fit, work engagement and individualism orientation

Socially responsible human resource management and employee innovation performance: the roles of person-organization fit, work engagement and individualism orientation

Unleashing Innovation Under Sanctions: The Catalyst of National Culture

ABSTRACTThis article explores how national culture moderates the impact of economic sanctions on a targeted country's innovation performance, using a dynamic difference‐in‐difference approach. Our empirical analysis utilises a panel dataset spanning 213 nations from 2013 to 2019. We discover that economic sanctions generally have a detrimental effect on the innovation performance of targeted countries. However, not all types of sanctions have the same negative impact on innovation. Specifically, financial, arms, and travel sanctions exhibit this negative influence. Furthermore, we reveal that under the sanction circumstances, countries characterised by high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to experience a higher level of innovation performance. Our findings remain robust after conducting various tests. In our subsequent analyses, we focus on different types of sanctions and find that the favourable impact of power distance and uncertainty avoidance culture on the relationship between sanctions and innovation applies primarily to financial sanctions.

Refueling intellectual capital toward innovation performance of SMEs in Saudi Arabia: mediating the role of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition

PurposeThe objectives of this research were to inspect the relationship of intellectual capital (IC), along with its dimensions (human, structural and internal and external relational capital) with innovation performance (IP), to explore entrepreneurial opportunity recognition (EOR) as a mediator between the IC and IP of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approachThis research used data collected via a well-structured questionnaire. The sample size was comprised of 457 participants who were owners and/or managers of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Further, the findings were extracted from data using partial least squares (PLS) techniques.FindingsThe results indicated that all dimensions of IC, including human capital (HC), structural capital (SC), internal relational capital (IRC) and external relational capital (ERC), had a significant relation with both IP and EOR. It was also shown that EOR positively influenced IP. Furthermore, the results showed that EOR played an important role as a mediator between IC (HC, SC, IRC and ERC) and IP.Practical implicationsThe present research offered a beneficial and novel managerial and theoretical strategy for improving a given firm’s IP with the support of IC and EOR. This finding offered a vision to the management teams of SMEs for full utilization of IC and IP. The present study also provided policymakers, administration and future studies with a path to improving the production and services of SMEs to secure market advantages.Originality/valueAccording to the author’s best knowledge, the present research represented the first attempt to expose the mediating role of the EOR relationship between IC and IP. Furthermore, the present study also developed the relationship between dynamic capabilities (DC) theory, intellectual capital-based view (ICV) theory and resource-based view (RBV) theory, with variables that reveal the theoretical foundation of the study. Finally, the results of this study were verified by the existing literature.

Innovative factors affecting performance of local government organizations in Thailand

This dissertation aimed (1) to study factors that have causal influences that affect the performance of municipalities. (2) to study the causal relationship model of innovative organizations, innovative capabilities, service innovation and performance management that influences the performance of municipalities. (3) to develop a linear structural equation model of the influence of service innovation, innovation organization, innovative capabilities and performance management that affects the performance of local government organizations in the category of municipalities in Thailand. The sample group were 320 executives of local government organizations in the category of municipalities in Thailand. Sampling was done in 2 steps: stratified and systematic sampling. This study is a quantitative study, and the research tool was a structured questionnaire and data were analyzed by percentage, mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and confirmatory component analysis and structural equation model analysis. The findings of this study demonstrate significant direct effects of innovative capabilities, service innovation and performance management on performance of local government organizations in Thailand. Moreover, it was observed that innovative organizations and innovative capabilities also exerted indirect effects on performance of local government organizations through their influence on performance management, serving as mediator variables. Through the development of a structural equation model, it was determined that innovative capabilities had the greatest overall influence on the performance of local government organizations in the category of municipalities in Thailand, followed by performance management, service innovation and innovation organization, respectively. This research study made executives of local government organizations in category of municipalities in Thailand can be used as a guideline in determining strategies for managing their organization to be able to keep up with changes in the digital world and to ensure that the performance of the local government organization achieves the specified goals in terms of both efficiency and effectiveness.

Exploring the Impact of Workforce Diversity on Employee Attitudes and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Study of Perceptions and Outcomes

Background: As modern organizations increasingly prioritize workforce diversity, understanding its influence on employee performance and organizational effectiveness is crucial. This study investigates the impact of diversity dimensions, including gender, age, ethnicity, and educational background, on employee attitudes and workplace outcomes. Objectives: The primary aim is to assess employees' perceptions of diversity within organizational contexts, exploring their attitudes toward diversity initiatives, personal impacts, and the broader effects on organizational success. Methods: A quantitative survey approach was employed, with a structured questionnaire administered to capture responses from a diverse participant sample. The survey examined agreement or disagreement across statements related to diversity's benefits, costs, and effects on organizational harmony and personal satisfaction. Findings: Results reveal a strong, positive perception of diversity among respondents, with the majority indicating that diversity fosters harmony, organizational effectiveness, and personal enrichment. While 91.4% express enthusiasm for diversity, 100% agree that diversity initiatives are worthwhile and support continued organizational efforts. Negative sentiments were minimal, indicating broad acceptance and positive attitudes toward diversity. Conclusion: The findings highlight diversity as a strategic asset that enhances innovation, inclusivity, and organizational performance. The study underscores the value of fostering a diverse workplace culture where employees feel appreciated, engaged, and motivated to contribute unique perspectives. Novelty: This research adds to the growing body of literature by providing empirical evidence from a varied demographic context, reinforcing diversity’s role in strengthening organizational cohesion and performance. The insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how positive diversity perceptions can be leveraged as a driver of organizational success.

The impact of FinTech/Blockchain Adoption on Corporate ESG and DEI Performance

Monitoring a company's efficiency is one of its primary responsibilities. There are many approaches in our contemporary society that either use IT or the conventional technique. Methods for measuring efficiency fall into three primary categories: parametric, nonparametric, and ratio indicators. We prioritize a firm's inputs and outputs when choosing metrics to measure efficiency. Establishing objectives and goals in entrepreneurship necessitates a thorough comprehension, appreciation, and knowledge of sustainability, and assessing the economic growth quality of a corporation is an essential task for theoretical and empirical sustainability assessment. When measuring the efficiency of entrepreneurship in terms of achieving desired values of macroeconomic indicators (e.g., sustainable economic growth objectives), data envelopment analysis (DEA), a widely used technique in efficiency analysis, has taken into account the economic, environmental, and social impact of entrepreneurship as the three dimensions of sustainability. The objective of this paper is to test the influence of FinTech/Blockchain adoption on corporate ESG and DEI performances using a novel DEA approach for sustainable development assessment. It highlights the significance of using a scalable technique for ESG efficiency study and gives scholars a more thorough viewpoint on the subject. In a collection of 50 enterprises, a DEA model was utilized for the analysis. For sustainable performance assessment using the proposed DEA technique, we defined as inputs six financial metrics, and as outputs 11 ESG/Blockchain adoption, and four DEI quality metrics to measure the firm’s efficiency. The annual business data was gathered between 2017 and 2023. In all country situations we discovered that, when DEI initiatives mediate, there is a strong correlation between ESG corporate performance and the quality of economic growth (particularly in the innovation and integrity blockchain adoption performance success metrics). Our study provides additional in-depth details on the FinTech/blockchain adoption environment in comparison to the findings of previous researchers. The sustainable entrepreneurship performance (a latent variable regarded as a dependent target factor) is calculated using eight (8) factors as observed variables, which is the first to consider the dynamics of ESG/BCA and DEI quality metrics as DEA outputs. The study also examines the mediating role of DEI corporate initiatives. By conducting an empirical investigation, the suggested scalable framework makes it evident which company is more efficient in moving toward sustainability, assisting corporate management in increasing the effectiveness of economic growth.

Research on the Impact of Digital Transformation on Innovation Performance in Manufacturing Enterprises

Research on the Impact of Digital Transformation on Innovation Performance in Manufacturing Enterprises

How exporting can boost innovation

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Exporting firms can significantly improve their innovation capabilities through a focus on key aspects of their human capital. Increasing international experience and appointing and developing highly educated employees helps equip them with greater knowledge and understanding of diverse foreign markets to subsequently increase the positive impact of exporting intensity on innovation performance. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Research on Corporate Innovation and Compensation Incentives

The optimal contract theory believes that the compensation contract can alleviate the agency contradiction between executives and shareholders. By making the interest goals of executives and shareholders converge, it can enhance the innovation willingness of senior executives to a certain extent, increase the innovation investment of enterprises, and then improve the performance of the company. However, the increase of investment in innovation will not necessarily improve the companys performance, and there may be an endogenous relationship between the two factors, which further complicates the issue of compensation incentive. This article sorts out the relevant literature on enterprise innovation and salary incentive, and discusses the relationship between salary incentive and enterprise innovation and its influence on the endogenous relationship between enterprise innovation and company performance. In addition, the possible influence of executive attachment characteristics on compensation incentive is also discussed.

Green credit policy, technological innovation, and corporate financial performance: Evidence from the energy industry

Green credit policy, technological innovation, and corporate financial performance: Evidence from the energy industry

The Mediating Effect of Innovative Performance on the Relationship Between the Use of Information Technology and Organizational Agility in SMEs

The current study has four main objectives. First, it aims to investigate the effect of the relationship between information technology (IT) dimensions (customer relationship management, knowledge management, and human resource management) and innovative practices on organizational agility in small and medium-size companies (SMEs). Second, it seeks to measure the relationship between IT components and innovative performance. Third, it examines the impact of innovative performance on organizational agility. Fourth it explores the mediating role of innovative performance in the relationship between IT and organizational agility. These objectives provide a clear roadmap for the research and guide the analysis and interpretation of the findings. This paper’s statistical population was composed of senior managers in SMEs in Khorsaran Razavi, Iran. The data were collected using standard questionnaires, 172 which were received in 2023 and analyzed using SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS version 4 software. The results demonstrate that using customer relationships, human resources, and knowledge management as three dimensions of IT and innovative performance can enhance organizational agility. Moreover, innovative performance plays a crucial role as a mediator, strengthening the impact of information IT dimensions on organizational agility. These findings underscore the practical relevance for companies operating in a dynamic economic environment. Special attention to organizational agility and practical factors will increase flexibility, speed of response, etc., and, ultimately, companies’ success in this tense economic environment. The innovation of this research is that the three dimensions of IT, including evaluating customer relationship management, human resource management, and knowledge management, is a growing research field in organizational agility. Therefore, this research is vital in empowering SMEs to increase agility. By evaluating the effect of the four variables of knowledge management, customer relationship management, human resource management, and innovative performance on organizational agility in SMEs, on the one hand, this research expands the theoretical literature and, on the other hand, helps such companies.

Breaking down entrepreneurial barriers: exploring the nexus of entrepreneurial behavior, innovation, and bank credit access through the lens of the theory of planned behavior

Access to finance is a primary concern for enterprises, serving as a critical component of tangible resources within the Resource-based View (RBV) framework and driving entrepreneurial activities globally. Bank credit stands as the preferred source of debt financing for enterprises, yet information asymmetry between lenders and borrowers poses significant credit obstacles. To address these challenges, we leverage the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), contending that entrepreneurs’ personal attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms influence bank credit access. Additionally, we argue that innovation performance, an intangible resource within RBV, facilitates credit access by enhancing firms’ quality and creditworthiness from lenders’ perspectives. This paper aims to examine the relationships between TPB constructs, bank credit access, and innovation performance, as well as the mediating role of innovation performance, through an analysis of 1367 enterprises across diverse European countries. Our findings reveal that innovation performance fully and inconsistently mediates the relationships between personal attitude-credit access and subjective norm-credit access, as the direct impacts of personal attitude and subjective norm on bank finance are found to be insignificant and negative, respectively. These results underscore the pivotal role of innovation performance in linking entrepreneurial behaviors to credit access, contributing to the uniqueness of this research within the entrepreneurship literature. Moreover, our study emphasizes the need for training initiatives that foster innovative and entrepreneurial attitudes among firm executives, thereby facilitating easier credit access. As highlighted by our cross-cultural analyses, these implications extend beyond national borders, offering valuable insights for enhancing credit accessibility across diverse contexts.

Structural elements and performance of entrepreneurial management systems at large corporations

The Russian economy is currently lagging behind developed nations in terms of innovation, which necessitates adopting relevant approaches to managing socio-economic systems to keep them competitive and ensure their sustainable develop ment. Large corporations have significant resource potential and social power, which makes it relevant to improve management of their entrepreneurial activity that stimulates innovation development. The paper aims to judge the quality of entrepreneurial management systems at large corporations and evaluate their innovation performance. Corporate governance theory and man agement theory constitute the methodological framework of the study. The research methods used are qualitative, regression and comparative analysis. The empirical data are obtained from 160 corporations included in 2023 RAEX-600 Ranking and rep resenting 21 industrial sectors, as well as data from the RF Federal State Statistics Service and the All-Russia data system on com panies and business “For Honest Business” for the period of 2010–2022. The study identifies 19 elements of the entrepreneurial management system at large corporations, e.g., the presence of an R&D center, startup support, commitment to open innovation, a corporate venture fund, etc., and assesses how intensively they are used across industries. As for the innovation performance of the system under review, no statistical relationship was observed between performance indicators of many corporations and the volume of shipped innovative products. Thus, the research reveals that entrepreneurial management systems at a large number of corporations lack innovation performance, which requires further research into their quality.