An Examination of Middle Manager Innovation Behaviors and Institutional Factors Impact on Organizational Innovation in the USA and Mexico

Several scholars have suggested mid-level management is an important factor that explains strategic outcomes (Wooldridge, Schmidt, & Floyd, 2008), but little research has investigated how this relationship actually works in multiple institutional environments. The resource-based view of the firm argues that competitive advantage is a function of resource heterogeneity and immobility (Barney, 1991) and the discretionary decisions made by managers about resource creation, development, and allocation (Amit & Shoemaker, 1993). These boundedly-rational managers (Simon, 1957) make these decisions facing an uncertain and complex internal and external environment. Thus, this dissertation extends the current research by developing and testing a new comprehensive model of middle management innovative behavior and organizational innovation that contemporaneously incorporates the isomorphic pressures of the institutional environment; and subsequent impact on organizational performance. The extant literature on middle managers is reviewed and research gaps in the literature are identified. The resource-based view and institutional theory are used to develop nine hypotheses, which are empirically tested. Findings show that middle manager innovation behavior positively impacts organizational innovativeness. This study also shows a positive relationship between organizational innovativeness and organizational performance. The findings also breaks new ground by finding that organizational context, in terms of participatory decision-making and organizational trust, is an important moderating factor that influences middle management\u27s role in organizational innovation. This study also considers how the external environment influences innovation outcomes, and introduces the importance of subnational regions on organizational middle manager innovation behavior and organizational innovation. Results show that urbanized settings moderate the middle manager innovative behavior and organizational innovation relationship. However, the national context does not appear to systematically influence middle managers impact on organizational innovation. For practitioners, this study identifies specific mid-level managerial behavior that contributes to organizational innovation and the firm-, regional-, and national level variables that impact the mid-manager-organizational innovation relationship

The moderating role of infrastructure facility on the relationship between organizational capability and performance

The role of SMEs in the economic development of the country is well established as the sector is the bedrock of entrepreneurship and innovation which is normally driven by individual creativity that leads to job creation, poverty reduction, wealth creation, income distribution and reduction in income disparity. The low performance and low survival rate of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) deny their potential valuable contribution to an economy. SMEs fail to perform up to the expectation as a result of particular constraints that are related to inadequate and non- functional infrastructure facility to support their operations, inability to innovate, lack of marketing capability, non-application of strategic capability and lack of learning capability. A randomly selected sample of 235 manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria were analysed using Partial Least Squires Structured Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) method. Results supported the hypothesized direct effects of innovation capability, marketing capability, strategic capability and learning capability on performance of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. In addition, infrastructure facility moderated these relationships. Specifically, there is positive moderating effect of infrastructure facility on the relationship between innovation capability, marketing capability, strategic capability, learning capability and performance of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Furthermore, infrastructure facility have a significant moderating on the path between IC and performance, MC and performance, SC and performance, LC and performance. In general, these findings supported the view that Organizational capability has positive influence on performance. The results of this study provide an important insights to owners, policy-makers and researchers to understand the effects of Organizational capability on SMEs performance. The outcome of the study also provides that organizational capability and firm performance depends on the availability of infrastructure facility, this study also presents a methodological contribution to the literature of SMEs performance through identifying validity and reliability of the adapted measures in the different context (Nigerian context.)

Impact of CRM adoption on organizational performance: Moderating role of technological turbulence

Purpose Customer relationship management (CRM) is instrumental to attain and sustain organizational competitive advantage. Innovation in terms of CRM adoption is the key to gain competitive advantage, and being innovative is dependent on how well organizations know about changing demands of customers and their changing ways to gain access to the market. There is hence a need to develop ongoing empirical insights from diverse management perspectives into the effect of CRM adoption on organizational performance. In this context, the purpose of this study is to develop empirical insights in relation to the moderation of technological turbulence in the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected and analyzed from 277 CRM staff-members of the banking sector in Pakistan to test a conceptual model. Frequencies of demographics are calculated with correlation and regression analyses using SPSS. The correlation analysis was performed to identify the direction that exists between the dependent and independent variables, and the regression analysis was performed to study the strength/intensity of the independent variable over the dependent variable. Moderating regression analysis was performed to find the moderation effect of technological turbulence on CRM adoption and organizational performance. Findings The CRM adoption has a critical positive impact on organizational performance in the settings of business-to-customer (B2C) perspective in the banking sector. Moreover, the results uncover that improved client satisfaction through CRM adoption prompts better organizational performance in the B2C organization. The authors also have found that technological turbulence has a negative guiding impact on the association linking with CRM adoption, as well as organizational performance. Research limitations/implications The conceptual model that is proposed in this study and supported by empirical insights offers researchers to develop future research studies on the moderating role of technological turbulence to analyze the influence of CRM adoption on organizational performance. Practical implications The empirical insights of this study are valuable for the professionals in the banking sector and other B2C organizations to enrich their organizational performance through CRM adoption while considering the moderating role of technological turbulence. Originality/value Based on an empirical study, in support of an original conceptual model, the insights of this paper contribute to the extant literature in the CRM, bank marketing and management, service management, B2C marketing and the emerging economy knowledge streams

Strategic Asset Seeking and Innovation Performance: The Role of Innovation Capabilities and Host Country Institutions

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La relación entre innovación y desempeño en las Mipymes de países emergentes en América Latina

En un contexto global de cambio e incertidumbre, la capacidad de innovación es clave para el desarrollo sostenido. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar empíricamente la relación entre la innovación y el desempeño empresarial de las Mipymes en países emergentes de América Latina y estudiar el papel moderador de la inversión y la colaboración en esta relación. La muestra de 104 Mipymes del sector textil de fabricación de prendas de vestir de Perú y Colombia, es analizada con la estrategia explicativa secuencial del diseño de métodos mixtos: en fase cuantitativa con el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (PLS-SEM) y en fase cualitativa a través del análisis temático de contenido y software Atlas.ti.22. Los resultados muestran que la Innovación de Producto sólo contribuye al Desempeño Comercial y Desempeño Económico, no existiendo predicción significativa sobre el Desempeño Organizacional y Productivo. La Innovación de Proceso de Negocio es predictor significativo del Desempeño empresarial, destacando que el 63% de Mipymes encuestadas han introducido nuevos métodos de producción o ingeniería, procesos de marketing y ventas, desarrollo de producto y diseño con impacto en la propia empresa. La moderación que la Inversión ejerce sobre la relación entre la Innovación y el Desempeño empresarial sólo tuvo significancia para el Desempeño Organizacional y Productivo y con respecto al efecto moderador de la Colaboración en la relación entre Innovación y Desempeño empresarial, en el análisis cuantitativo no se obtuvo una predicción significativa, resultado soportado por las encuestas, donde el 62.98% de las Mipymes nunca recibió apoyo de otros actores para el desarrollo de actividades de innovación. La aplicación de los hallazgos de este estudio contribuirá a la propuesta de políticas públicas que promuevan la colaboración entre actores del ecosistema de innovación, así como de estrategias de inversión para el desarrollo de la innovación en países emergentes.In a global context of change and uncertainty, innovation capacity is key to sustained development. The objective of this study is to empirically analyze the relationship between innovation and firm performance of MSMEs in emerging Latin American countries and to study the moderating role of investment and collaboration in this relationship. The sample of 104 MSMEs in the textile sector of apparel manufacturing in Peru and Colombia, is analyzed with the sequential explanatory strategy of mixed methods design: in quantitative phase with structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and in qualitative phase through thematic content analysis and Atlas.ti.22 software. The results show that Product Innovation only contributes to Commercial Performance and Economic Performance, with no significant prediction on Organizational and Productive Performance. Business Process Innovation is a significant predictor of Firm Performance, highlighting that 63% of MSMEs surveyed have introduced new production or engineering methods, marketing and sales processes, product development and design with an impact on the firm itself. The moderating effect of Investment on the relationship between Innovation and Firm Performance was only significant for Organizational and Productive Performance, and with respect to the moderating effect of Collaboration on the relationship between Innovation and Firm Performance, in the quantitative analysis no significant prediction was obtained, a result supported by the surveys, where 62.98% of the MSMEs never received support from other actors for the development of innovation activities. The application of the findings of this study will contribute to the proposal of public policies that promote collaboration between actors of the innovation ecosystem, as well as investment strategies for the development of innovation in emerging countries

Absorptive capacity and relationship learning mechanisms as complementary drivers of green innovation performance

This paper aims to explore in depth how internal and external knowledge-based drivers actually affect the firms\u2019 green innovation performance. Subsequently, this study analyzes the relationships between absorptive capacity (internal knowledge-based driver), relationship learning (external knowledge-based driver) and green innovation performance. This study relies on a sample of 112 firms belonging to the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector (ACMS) and uses partial least squares path modeling to test the hypotheses proposed. The empirical results show that both absorptive capacity and relationship learning exert a significant positive effect on the dependent variable and that relationship learning moderates the link between absorptive capacity and green innovation performance. This paper presents some limitations with respect to the particular sector (i.e. the ACMS) and geographical context (Spain). For this reason, researchers must be thoughtful while generalizing these results to distinct scenarios. Managers should devote more time and resources to reinforce their absorptive capacity as an important strategic tool to generate new knowledge and hence foster green innovation performance in manufacturing industries. The paper shows the importance of encouraging decision-makers to cultivate and rely on relationship learning mechanisms with their main stakeholders and to acquire the necessary information and knowledge that might be valuable in the maturity of green innovations. This study proposes that relationship learning plays a moderating role in the relationship between absorptive capacity and green innovation performance

The moderating effect of brand orientation on inter-firm market orientation and performance

While prior research has shown that market and brand orientation are key contributors to successful business performance, research to date has not fully explored how inter firm collaboration for these two key orientations can enhance business performance. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the relationship between inter-firm market and performance; to test for the moderating role of brand orientation in that relationship. A total of 169 completed pairs of surveys were collected of small and medium enterprises operating internationally in a variety of industries in Switzerland. The results show that inter-firm market and brand orientation are two antecedents of marketing and financial performance. The impact of inter-firm market on marketing and financial performance is significant when the brand orientation is favorable. This study extends previous research by examining the moderating role of brand orientation on inter firm market orientation, which is important, especially for firms wanting to increase their brand reputation by entering into partnerships with other firms. Further research is indicated, to identify the key moderators of the driving force of inter-firm market in relation to business performance and the reason why maintaining a strong brand presence is important in the international marketplace

Examining the Impact of Innovation Forms on Sustainable Economic Performance: The Influence of Family Management

The aim of this research is to explore the effect that innovation, as a potential source of sustained competitive advantage and firm growth, has on the achievement of sustainable economic performance. In particular, this paper empirically examines the influence of four innovation forms (intramural R&D, extramural R&D, product innovation, and process innovation) on firms’ sustainable economic performance, considering the moderating effect of family involvement in management. To test the hypotheses, random-effects regression analyses are applied to a longitudinal sample of 598 Spanish private manufacturing firms throughout the 2006–2015 period. The results show a negative effect of intramural and extramural R&D on sustainable economic performance and a positive effect of process innovation on sustainable economic performance. Moreover, a reinforced relationship between process innovation and sustainable economic performance is also revealed when family involvement in management acts as a moderator. The findings make several contributions to research and practice

Knowledge Management and the Effectiveness of Innovation Outcomes: The Role of Cultural Barriers

In this paper we propose a conceptual model to test the moderating effect of cultural barriers on the link between knowledge strategies and innovation using healthcare organizations. In order to study the tie (knowledge-innovation) and the effects of the moderating variable (cultural barriers), the resource-based view is followed. It has been generally accepted that both explicit and tacit knowledge play a basic role in organizational innovation. However, there are few research works that study the relationship between knowledge management strategy and the effectiveness of the innovation process. On the other hand, the extant research on this relationship has yielded inconclusive results. Our paper revisits this research topic based on data of knowledge management strategy, Knowledge base, cultural barriers and innovation outcomes from a sample of Spanish hospitals

Entrepreneurial orientation and the threat of imitation: the influence of upstream and downstream capabilities

This paper uncovers the complexity between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and performance. The paper explores the effect of the threat of imitation, which is a key external factor to explain competitive dynamics, and hence highlights effectiveness of EO. Also the paper accounts for the role of upstream (technical) and downstream (marketing) capabilities as they influence effectiveness of EO. Our results show that, under threat of imitation, downstream marketing capabilities facilitate taping into opportunities derived from EO, which positively affects performance. Conversely, available upstream technical capabilities do not aim at EO when imitation threats exist in the environment. Of importance is that we question the complexity between EO and performance can be better understood using a configurational approach