Innovation ambidexterity effects on product innovation performance: the mediating role of decentralization

Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Ion Ceptureanu ◽  
Eduard Gabriel Ceptureanu

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to analyse the impact of innovation ambidexterity represented by explorative and exploitative innovation capabilities and their combined effects on product innovation performance and to prove the mediating effect of decentralization.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses partial least squares for structural equation models and SmartPLS version 3.3.1 on a sample of 174 Romanian medium- and large-sized firms from the IT industry to test six research hypotheses. To measure innovation ambidexterity, the orthogonal approach was used, conceptualizing innovation ambidexterity as a multidimensional, second-order construct composed of explorative and exploitative innovation capabilities. Innovation ambidexterity was conceptualized as a multiplicative term of both explorative and exploitative innovation capabilities.FindingsThe empirical results prove that innovation ambidexterity is positively correlated with product innovation performance, while decentralization is mediating the impact of innovation ambidexterity on product innovation performance in the IT industry.Research limitations/implicationsThe data was based on self-reported assessments of senior executives. While innovation ambidexterity may influence product innovation performance in the long term, such long-term effects are not assessed. Other studies found a moderating effect between centralization or decentralization and ambidexterity, while we found that it has a mediating effect.Practical implicationsIn the context of innovation capability, the combination of explorative or exploitative capabilities may lead to a better synergy. Innovation ambidexterity influences product innovation performance through a synergistic effect, making the simultaneous combination of capabilities useful for firms willing to make efficient use of existing resources and make their capabilities mutually supportive. Moreover, for senior executives, the effects of decentralization as a mediator provide further incentive to include it in their development of firms' innovation capabilities.Originality/valueThis study extends findings of other studies by contributing to a deeper examination of the effects of decentralization, on innovation outcomes by focusing on a specific type of innovation, product innovation. Moreover, since innovation capability is often studied in small firms or in the manufacturing industry, this study contributes to the research on innovation capability and the consequences on innovation capability in the services sector and medium- and large-sized companies. By proving that decentralization mediates the effects of innovation ambidexterity on product innovation performance, it enables reconsideration of the organizational structure role in fostering innovation.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilert Puriwat ◽  
Danupol Hoonsopon

PurposeThis study is to compare the impact of organizational agility and flexibility on performance of each type of product innovation (radical vs incremental innovation). Additionally, the moderating effect of technological turbulence on the relationship between the two types of organization is examined.Design/methodology/approachBased on gaps in the existing literature, the survey data are collected from managers who are in charge of developing new products in three industries: food and beverage, chemical and machinery (N = 431). Confirmatory factory analysis is used to verify measurement items and regression analysis is used to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that organizational agility increases performance in radical innovation both in a certain situation and an environment with technological turbulence. In contrast, the impact of organizational flexibility is limited to increasing performance in both radical and incremental innovation performance in a certain situation.Originality/valueOur study extends the knowledge of organizational agility and flexibility in the domain of product innovation. Adaptation of organization to respond the technological turbulence will stimulate creativity of new product development teams to produce new useful ideas and transform these ideas to product innovation. The different types of organizing a new product development team to handle technological turbulence will provide different results in product innovation performance. In addition, the findings provide a recommendation on how the organization of a new product development team can improve performance in each type of product innovation under technological turbulence.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abir Hichri ◽  
Moez Ltifi

Purpose The study is based on a hybrid model composed of accounting and business data and is amongst the first to test the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance on the financial performance of the company, as well as the impact of financial performance on CSR performance. The bidirectional logic chosen by the study is rarely adopted in the global context and has never been tested in the Swedish context. Moreover, the purpose of this paper is to test the mediating effect of customer loyalty on the company’s CSR performance-financial performance relationship to assess this effect over the long term. This design has been neglected in previous studies. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from a sample of 110 Swedish companies during the period 2009–2019. This study collects the data from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database. A multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses. Findings The results confirmed the bidirectional relationship between CSR performance and company financial performance. This means that CSR performance positively influences the company’s financial performance. Similarly, financial performance positively influences the company’s CSR performance. Moreover, customer loyalty has a positive and significant mediating effect on the company’s CSR performance-financial performance relationship. Originality/value This study adds several inputs. The first contribution of the research is to test a hybrid model composed of accounting and commercial data. This model is amongst the first to test the impact of CSR performance on the financial performance of the company and the impact of financial performance on CSR performance. The second contribution is the bidirectional logic chosen by the study which is rarely adopted in the global context and has never been tested in the Swedish context. The third contribution is to test the mediating effect of customer loyalty on the company’s CSR performance-financial performance relationship to assess this effect over the long term. This design has been neglected in previous studies. The fourth contribution is the choice of the field of investigation for the reliability of the data used and the generalisation of the results obtained.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban López-Zapata ◽  
Armando De Jesús Ramírez-Gómez

PurposeThis study analyzes the impact of intellectual capital on organizational ambidexterity by evaluating the mediating effect of the different types of organizational cultures (adhocracy, clan, market and hierarchy) on the said relationship.Design/methodology/approachFrom a sample of 124 directors of Colombian firms, the information is analyzed using Structural Equation Models through the Partial Least Squares method (SEM-PLS).FindingsThe results show that intellectual capital has a positive relationship with organizational ambidexterity and that market culture presents a positive mediating effect in the said relationship, while the mediating effects of adhocracy culture, clan culture and hierarchy culture are not significant.Practical implicationsDirectors can favor the development of organizational ambidexterity by investing in the intellectual capital of their firms and by promoting the development of market culture attributes.Originality/valueThis work contributes empirical evidence on the mediating role of organizational culture in the relationship between intellectual capital and ambidexterity, highlighting the importance of market culture over other types of culture for the simultaneous development of exploration and exploitation capabilities, in the context of an emerging Latin American economy such as Colombia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1601-1624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha Paul Kulangara ◽  
Sherry Avery Jackson ◽  
Edmund Prater

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interrelationship between trust, socialization, and information sharing on the buying firm’s innovation capability in the context of the buyer-supplier relationship (BSR). A nomological model is developed that examines the mediating role of relational capital (supplier trust) on the relationship between structural capital (socialization and information sharing) and innovation capability. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on 357 US executives. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships. Findings Information sharing and formal socialization activities increased the buying firm’s trust in its key supplier. However, formal socialization activities within the context of the business environment did not have a significant direct impact on buyer’s innovative capabilities; but when mediated by trust, it positively impacted innovation capabilities. Informal socialization within the context of the social environment directly impacted innovation capabilities but trust did not mediate the relationship. Information sharing impacted trust and innovation significantly and trust mediated the impact of information sharing on innovation capabilities. Originality/value This study defines the formal and informal aspects of socialization and investigates its impact on trust and buyer innovation capabilities. This is one of the few studies that highlights the mediating role of trust between firms to facilitate innovation capability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1295-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin von Haartman ◽  
Lars Bengtsson

Purpose – The interest in global purchasing has increased significantly in recent years, but the impact on product innovation is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse the impact of global purchasing on product innovation sourced from suppliers, while taking into account how firms integrate their suppliers. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this study are from the International Purchasing Survey, an international online survey on purchasing and supply management conducted in 2009. The data are analysed using factor and regression analyses. Findings – The paper shows that global purchasing has no direct impact on product innovation performance. However, supplier integration is more strongly associated with product innovation performance for firms purchasing globally compared to firms purchasing regionally. Practical implications – The implication is that when companies purchase globally, they must have a highly developed purchasing department in order to sustain a high level of innovation. For firms purchasing only regionally, the role of the purchasing department is diminished, at least in terms of contributing to innovation. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the discussion of potential advantages and disadvantages of global purchasing. First, the paper provides an explanation for the ambiguous results of previous research. Product innovation does not depend on whether firms are purchasing globally or not, it depends on how they purchase. This paper has showed that when purchasing globally, the role of the purchasing department becomes crucial for product innovation. The proficiency and activities of the purchasing department largely determine the success, in terms of supplier product innovation, of global purchasing.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengqiao Liu ◽  
Yongzhong Jiang ◽  
Zhu Yao ◽  
Xiliang Liu ◽  
Li Zhao ◽  
...  

Purpose Based on self-consistency theory and conservation of resource theory, this study aims to discuss the impact of career calling congruence on employees’ innovation performance (IP) and analyzes the mediating effect of work passion [harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP)]. Design/methodology/approach To avoid serious common method biases, data in this paper were collected at three-wave. This paper investigated 381 employees to assess their career calling in time 1, measured their work passion in time 2 and assessed the IP of these employees in time 3. This paper also conducts confirmatory factor analysis, polynomial regression, response surface analysis, bootstrapping test and simple slope test to verify the research hypothesis in this paper. Findings In the career calling congruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher when both levels of serving oneself career calling and helping others career calling are high than when both are low; In the career calling incongruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher in the “low serving oneself and high helping others” case than in the “high serving oneself and low helping others” case; The more congruent the “serving oneself” and “helping others” career calling are, the higher the employees’ HP, OP and IP will be; and HP and OP mediate the relationship between career calling congruence and IP. Originality/value This study further clarifies the structure of career calling and find the positive effects of career calling on IP. The results present a deeper understanding of career calling and are universal applicable to the eastern culture context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1044-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Yang ◽  
Chenwu Xu ◽  
Guoguang Wan

Purpose Drawing on the related insights from the upper echelon perspective, modern cognitive theory and path dependence theory, this paper aims to first integrate top management teams (TMTs) overseas experiences, research and development (R&D) strategic decision-making and innovation performance into a uniform theoretical framework and try to understand TMTs’ overseas experiences accounting for both the direct and indirect mechanisms of the variables involved within the transition economy of China. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts research sample from the listed companies on the Growth Enterprises Market Board (GEMB) of Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China due to their stronger innovation consciousness. The research data are mainly from the WIND database of China, as the data issued in this database must be checked and approved by China’s legal institutions including China Securities Regulatory Commission and its authorized agencies. The samples cover different types of ownership and the vast majority of industries of China, which makes the objects a wide range of coverage and representativeness. In addition, according to suggestions of Podsakoff et al. (2003), the authors design the controlling measures from two aspects of data collection and statistical analysis to reduce the homologous error as much as possible. Findings Empirical results show that innovation performance is positively affected by the centrality overseas functional experience and industrial experience but negatively affected by the heterogeneity of overseas functional experience of TMT. Meanwhile, R&D intensity and modes play partially mediating effect in the relationship between TMTs’ overseas functional experience centrality and industrial experience heterogeneity and innovation performance, but for the relationship between overseas functional experience heterogeneity and innovation performance, R&D intensity leads to fully mediating effect. Originality/value This study contributes toward filling the gaps by elucidating the effect of TMTs’ overseas experiences on the innovation performance, identifying the mediating role of R&D strategic decision-makings in this relationship and empirically examining the acting mechanisms and paths of the variables involved in the Chinese context. In addition, practitioners could use these findings to improve their selection and training processes regarding both the top management members and the designing of the R&D strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Voon-Hsien Lee ◽  
Pik-Yin Foo ◽  
Garry Wei-Han Tan ◽  
Keng-Boon Ooi ◽  
Amrik Sohal

PurposeThis research aims to examine the relationships between supply chain quality management (SCQM), organizational learning capability (OLC) and product innovation performance (PIP) among small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study in which 163 valid responses were empirically collected from SMMEs in Malaysia via self-administered structured questionnaires.FindingsPerforming a partial least squares–structural equation modelling analysis, the findings revealed that the relationships between SCQM, OLC and PIP are positive and significant. Moreover, OLC partially mediates the relationship between SCQM and product innovation. Serving as a practical guideline, the results of this study stress the fact that managers of SMMEs need to look into the role-specific context of the firm before determining which practices would be effective for their companies.Originality/valueThe value-added additional testing of the mediating effect of OLC is the highlight of this study. This research represents another leap towards redefining and advancing SCQM, especially for SMMEs in the Asian context.


2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1031-1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq Jajja ◽  
Shaukat Ali Brah ◽  
Syed Zahoor Hassan ◽  
Vijay R. Kannan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between buyers and suppliers in the context of product innovation in an emerging economy. Specifically, it examines the strategic and tactical initiatives necessary to drive inter-organizational alignment and thus positive innovation outcomes. It also examines the impact of organizational characteristics on product innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data from 191 organizations in Pakistan, a structural equation model of the relationships between buyers’ and suppliers’ strategic focus on innovation, supplier innovation focus, collaborative innovation, and measures of product innovation and market performance is tested. In addition, hierarchical regression analysis is used to identify the impact of various organizational characteristics on product innovation performance. Findings – The results suggest that a firm's product innovation performance is positively influenced by strategic buyer-supplier alignment with regard to product innovation, and the existence of mechanisms that foster inter-organizational collaboration. This in turn has a positive impact on market performance. Product innovation performance is also influenced by a firm's age, the nature of its ownership, and the extent to which it exports its products. Originality/value – The study offers new insight into the role of inter-organizational collaboration as a driver of product innovation. Moreover, it adds to a limited literature on supply chain management in emerging economies generally, and on product innovation in the Indian sub-continent specifically.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Najaf Iqbal ◽  
Ju Feng Xu ◽  
Zeeshan Fareed ◽  
Guangcai Wan ◽  
Lina Ma

PurposeThis study attempts to document the impact of financial leverage on corporate innovation in the Chinese nonfinancial public firms listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.Design/methodology/approachThe firm-level data are collected from CSMAR database for ten years, ranging from 2007 to 2016. The authors have employed the panel fixed effects model and further system GMM approach for analysis. The sample is segregated on the basis of state (SOE) and nonstate ownership (NSOE) to check for the diverse effects. In total, three different proxies of financial leverage are used to unearth the varying impact of short-time and long-term leverage separately. Further, corporate innovation is divided into input innovation (R&D/Sales and R&D/Assets) and output innovation (patents and inventions).FindingsThe results suggest that financial leverage is detrimental to the input innovation while conducive for the output innovation when measured by the number of patents. Contrarily, leverage has a negative influence over the output innovation when measured by the number of inventions. This implies that leverage is more damaging for the highest form of innovativeness (inventions) in China. Input innovation is more sensitive to the changes in long-term leverage versus short-term leverage. Further, the authors find that innovation in SOEs is more sensitive to the changes in the leverage as compared to the NSOEs. The results are free from the threat of endogeneity and identification problems, as reported by the system GMM model.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors did not segregate the sample on the basis of industry/sector.Practical implicationsThe firms pursuing a strategy of radical innovation should try to keep their debt levels lower in order to achieve a higher innovation performance. Although, a rise in the leverage may mean an increased access to finance for a firm but such an access comes at a cost in the form of damage to the corporate innovation. However, increased debt financing may not be so bad for the firms that want to achieve a moderate and not the highest level of innovation. Such firms can produce recurring and synergic effects with debt financing and moderate innovation, once they achieve a level of innovation performance that satisfies their financiers.Originality/valueTo the best of authors’ knowledge, this is probably the first study to check the impact of firm-level financial leverage on both input and output innovation in the Chinese public-listed nonfinancial firms' panel data perspective till now.


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