Does corporate social responsibility influence corporate innovation? International evidence

Whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects corporate innovation remains controversial in the literature. We re-examine this issue using a newly available comprehensive innovation database on 20 countries and find support for the view that CSR performance fosters innovation. This effect of CSR is reflected on corporate innovation through its environmental and social dimensions. We also show that the effect of CSR on corporate innovation is less pronounced in emerging countries, but this is driven only by the environmental dimension of CSR. Finally, in comparison to common-law countries, we report a more positive impact of CSR on innovation in civil-law countries.     

Operationalisation of service innovation: a systems thinking approach

This paper initialises an effort to explore the impact of an innovative systems thinking approach for service operations design on creating innovation. A qualitative exploratory case study approach in two of the UK’s service sector departments was conducted, using face-to-face semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and extractions from both observations and documents. The results identify that operationalising service innovation is positively linked with applying the Vanguard Method for service operations design. Twelve micro-determinants for service innovation operationalisation have been identified that reside at three different levels in the service organisation, namely employees level (i.e. Micro), the functional level (i.e. Meso), and corporate level (i.e. Macro). The value of this paper is the introduction of a step-by-step guidance on how to build service operations design to operationalise service innovation, the paper also theorises service innovation with systems thinking methodology that emphasises holistic, multi-disciplinary, and integrative characteristics of the service system.     

Organizational innovation,technological innovation,and export performance: The effects of innovation radicalness and extensiveness

This study focuses on the relevance of different types of innovation for firms’ export performance. Despite ample research on the innovation–performance relationship, previous studies have mainly focused on technological innovations, leaving the effects of organizational innovations relatively unexplored. Hypotheses on the relationship between organizational and technological innovations and firm export performance are tested by structural equation modelling using data from 218 Swedish export ventures. The results indicate that organizational innovation enhances export performance both directly and indirectly by sustaining technological innovation. Moreover, by fine-graining our analysis of the mediating role of technological innovation, according to its radicalness and extensiveness, for organizational innovation, we show how the latter enhances both the radicalness and extensiveness of technological innovation although, notably, only extensiveness is actually beneficial for export performance. This study helps alleviate the scarcity of research examining the links among different types of innovation in relation to export performance and contributes to international business and marketing literature by generating new evidence regarding the mechanisms through which organizational and technological innovations may improve export performance.     

Measuring innovation in services: the role of surveys

The main aim of this paper was to analyse the role of European innovation surveys in measuring innovation in services. The various community innovation surveys (CISs) are analysed in the light of the three main theoretical approaches to innovation in services, namely assimilation, service-oriented and integrative. The analysis performed shows a gradual change in the way in which European surveys have been structured over time, highlighting a partial shift from the assimilation approach towards the integrative one. Furthermore, the paper provides a systematic assessment of the CIS experience and of the lessons to be drawn from it.     

Relations between technological and non-technological innovations in the service sector

In the economic literature, there is a debate on whether technological and non-technological innovations share the same determinants. As a result of this debate, two opposing views have emerged: the distinctive view argues that the determinants of both technologies are different; on the contrary, the integrative view considers that both types of technologies share determinants. The main objective that we pursue in this study is to test which of the two views is prevalent in the service sector of the Spanish economy. Analyses were performed using data from Spanish Technological Innovation Panel for the period 2008–2012. To perform hypothesis tests, the approach of complementarity was used. Our findings indicate that neither of the two approaches has been fully accredited, although the distinctive view is more prevalent. However, this radiography of relations tells us that companies can achieve further increases in productivity if technological innovation and non-technological innovation are implemented simultaneously.     

Dual boundary spanning: Toward a typology of outside‐in open innovation in the Canadian context

The extant literature runs short in understanding openness of innovation regarding and the different pathways along which internal and external knowledge resources can be combined. This study proposes a unique typology for outside‐in innovations based on two distinct ways of boundary spanning: whether an innovation idea is created internally or externally and whether an innovation process relies on external knowledge resources. This yields four possible types of innovation, which represent the nuanced variation of outside‐in innovations. Using historical data from Canada for 1945–1980, this study unveils different implications of these innovation types for different levels of innovation novelty. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of service innovation on firm performance

This study empirically examines the impact of service innovation on performance in developing countries such as China. We construct a more integrative model linking service innovation, service quality and performance and collect 277 samples in the Chinese tourism sector. The findings are: First, service innovation affects firm performance through direct and indirect paths where service quality plays a positive mediating role, and the direct impact is larger than the indirect one; Secondly, the innovation mode is cost-reductive, which focuses on eliminating internal cost rather than improving service quality; Third, the assessment of service quality emphasizes the dimensions of assurance and reliability.     

Open innovation requires integrated competition-community ecosystems: Lessons learned from civic open innovation

Open innovation has received substantial business attention as a means of providing firms in hyper-competitive environments with the ability to create a stream of new products and services. For open innovation, organizing external sources correctly is a critical capability; current literature suggests that external sources should be organized either as collaborative communities or as competitive markets. While firms have generally been slow to adopt open innovation, many cities in the U.S. and Europe have been quick to embrace it—providing needed field-based experience on how to organize external sources. Based on our examination of six cities opening their data for innovation, we found that while cities often started with one or the other approach to organizing their external sources, each approach was inadequate in ways that could potentially be addressed by the addition of the other approach. Thus, we conclude with an integrated approach in which the needs of the entire ecosystem of sources and supporters of innovation are organized to address both competitive and community needs.     

Firm growth and innovation

In recent years, there has been an increase in empirical and theoretical work that addresses the role of innovation as one of the main sources of firm growth. The purpose of this special issue is to strengthen the role played by innovation as a determinant of firm growth. Despite the emergence of a vast empirical literature on whether innovative firms grow more quickly in terms of sales and employees, a number of crucial questions and answers remain. While a large number of applied papers observe a positive link between innovation and firm growth, the complexity of R&D activities, together with the diversity of innovation strategies and the multiplicity of growth modes, requires a multidimensional approach to examine the contribution of innovations on firm growth. To shed light on the link between firm’ growth and innovation sources, we organized a meeting of leading scholars of firm’ growth and innovation. The papers of this special issue were presented at the workshop on ‘Firm growth and innovation’ held on 28 and 29 June, 2012, in Tarragona, Spain. The papers that compose this special issue deal in depth with innovation activity, firm growth and the interaction between firm growth and innovation.     

Outward foreign direct investment and green innovation in Chinese multinational companies

This paper investigates the reverse green innovation spillovers of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in Chinese multinational companies and how environmental regulation stringency in host countries moderates the relationship between OFDI and green innovation. The empirical analysis is based on an integrated dataset of publicly listed firms from 2008 to 2018. The findings demonstrate a significantly positive relationship between OFDI and the green innovation performance of multinational companies. It is also shown that environmental regulation stringency in host countries positively moderates the relationship between OFDI and green innovation. Further analysis reveals the variation of the findings across multinational companies in host countries at different development stages, with different ownership and in industries with different pollution intensities. The observations in this paper imply that the institutional environment of investment destinations matters for reverse technology spillovers, particularly reverse green technology spillovers from OFDI.     

Sadness bright as glass: the acceptance of emotionally sensitive radical innovation

Abstract

The existing literature acknowledges the importance of emotions in consumer decision-making and the challenges of radical innovation adoption; however, the literature seldom combines these two streams. The purpose of this study was to analyse potential adopters’ considerations concerning an innovation that is targeted at intense negative emotions. Choosing a case-study strategy enabled us to focus on extremely negative emotions (related to death) and the acceptance of a radical innovation (a memorial stone made of glass). In this study, we applied a longitudinal mixed-methods approach. Data were collected via interviews with consumers (357 respondents), the entrepreneur and her employee. Findings show that an emotionally sensitive radical innovation evokes more intense emotions and emotional ambivalence among consumers. Its acceptance also seems to depend on the age and gender of the customers and requires cultural change. A lengthy adoption process seems to be characteristic of emotionally intensive innovation. This study has implications for managers facing the challenge of creating new markets for a radical innovation that involves extreme emotions on the part of consumers. Theoretically, the study contributes to both innovation adoption and consumer decision-making literature.     

Small business,innovation, and entrepreneurship

The purpose of this special issue is to examine small businesses, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and show that, although these three concepts have their own specific literature and can be dealt with independently, they are closely related. From Schumpeter to the present, a stream of literature unites the concept of entrepreneurship with its ability to make new combinations of factors and corresponding innovations in processes and products; similarly, in a broad stream of literature, the most characteristic dimension of entrepreneurship is closely linked to small businesses. Small and large companies have different advantages and drawbacks with innovation, but small businesses provide the most conducive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation that are not necessarily sustained by the know-how and resources characteristic of large-scale production, but require commitment and close cooperation between company members. In this introduction, we show how the three topics converge in four articles dealing with micro-start-ups and innovation, institutional determinants of entrepreneurship, and determining factors in entrepreneurs’ individual characteristics.     

A cross-country study of consumer innovativeness and technological service innovation

The current literature suggests that the concept of consumer innovativeness is universally applicable. Innovators are believed to be novelty seekers and risk takers independent of their national identity, and therefore to be attracted to similar characteristics of an innovation across most countries. However, research in intercultural marketing has shown that cultural norms and values have varying influences on the adoption of innovation, a finding that seems to contradict the assumption that the relationship between consumer innovativeness and adoption of innovation is universally uniform. This research investigates the effects of consumer innovativeness on attitude toward a service-based innovation across three European countries. The results of a multi-group structural equation modeling show that the relationship between consumer innovativeness and attitude toward innovation varies across the three dimensions of perceived novelty, perceived value, and perceived risk.     

Impact of international entry choices on the nature and type of innovation: Evidence from emerging economy firms from the Indian bio-pharmaceutical industry

As emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) enter foreign countries in search of new markets, seeking to expand their knowledge bases, research on the type and nature of innovation activity is needed to address the impact of EMNEs’ choices related to international expansion. Building on prior literature on entry mode and location choices, as well as on organizational learning, we argue that how and where an EMNE expands internationally will impact the nature of its innovation. We carry out empirical analysis on a sample of 167 Indian bio-pharmaceutical firms for the period from 1997–2017. Our findings suggest that greenfield ventures foster innovation in core technologies, while cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) foster innovation in non-core technologies. In addition, locating subsidiaries in high income countries encourages product innovations, while locating in low income countries encourages process innovations. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on differences in learning outcomes of EMNE internationalization.     

Towards a model of destination innovation process: an integrative review

The goal of the present paper is to integrate five types of literature related to the innovation process (i.e. cluster theory, innovation systems, network relations, knowledge management, and innovation types) and apply them to the local tourism destination to build a destination innovation process model with macro and micro perspectives. The suggested models intend to broaden the thinking on destination innovation process for tourism-related agents at the local and national level. The paper undertakes a careful review of the relevant literature before creating the conceptual models. The paper’s novelty and uniqueness lies in suggesting a new conceptual model of addressing how innovation competence of tourism destinations can be developed, and offering insight for tourism-related agents at the local and national level into how to effectively create and manage innovations. Future research should undertake empirical studies to test the integrated models presented in this conceptual paper.     

Innovation analytics: Leveraging artificial intelligence in the innovation process

Artificial intelligence (AI) is about imbuing machines with a kind of intelligence that is mainly attributed to humans. Extant literature—coupled with our experiences as practitioners—suggests that while AI may not be ready to completely take over highly creative tasks within the innovation process, it shows promise as a significant support to innovation managers. In this article, we broadly refer to the derivation of computer-enabled, data-driven insights, models, and visualizations within the innovation process as innovation analytics. AI can play a key role in the innovation process by driving multiple aspects of innovation analytics. We present four different case studies of AI in action based on our previous work in the field. We highlight benefits and limitations of using AI in innovation and conclude with strategic implications and additional resources for innovation managers.     

Diversity of innovation patterns in services

Recently, literature on innovation in service activities has increased significantly. Much effort has been concentrated on understanding the importance of innovation for these activities, and on stressing innovative differences relative to the manufacturing innovation model. However, a deeper understanding is needed in three main areas: the degree of innovation heterogeneity among different service activities, the factors that explain this heterogeneity, and the primary drivers of the innovation process for each activity. Using results from the Third Community Innovation Survey, this paper aims to identify the extent to which there are similarities and differences in the main innovation attributes in four important service sub-sectors. After describing the characteristics of innovation and the behavior of variables in the sub-sectors, a typology of innovation patterns is identified.     

Stakeholder pressures,EMS implementation,and green innovation in MNC overseas subsidiaries

In this paper, we address the issue of green innovation by the overseas subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). Drawing upon stakeholder theory and institutional theory, we propose a conceptual model to explain how stakeholder pressures in host countries prompt MNC subsidiaries to undertake green product and process innovations. Our findings indicate that MNC subsidiaries need to meet market stakeholders’ pressures in order to achieve social legitimacy in host countries, and that the implementation of formal environmental management systems (EMS) is an important mechanism translating these pressures into green innovation initiatives. Furthermore, we find that the positive relationship between market stakeholder pressures and EMS implementation is reinforced by global ‘green’ institutional pressures in the different host countries.     

Institutional and economic drivers of entrepreneurship: An international perspective

Entrepreneurial activity varies significantly across countries and over time. The economic and institutional context is a determining factor that can drive and lend shape to entrepreneurial activity. The search for a deeper understanding of the role of this factor constitutes a promising and important research stream. A thorough review of the specialist literature identifies groups of countries with similar economic and institutional environments. Subsequent analysis highlights differences in entrepreneurial activity and innovation outcomes between these homogeneous groups. Results indicate significant differences, not only in entrepreneurial activity, but also in the type of entrepreneurship and innovation results. These findings mark a relevant step forward in the identification of different environment types, and the effects of environment on entrepreneurial activity and innovation results.     

The Economics of Entrepreneurship Policy: Introduction to the Special Issue

This paper introduces the special issue on the economics of entrepreneurship policy. It is argued that important differences in the perspective on and approach to entrepreneurship policy that are found in the literature are rooted in different conceptions. The Schumpeterian conception of entrepreneurship that provides a focus on innovation and firm growth is the most useful definition for entrepreneurship policy in developed countries. In addition focused summaries of the contributions are presented. The paper concludes by emphasizing the main contributions of economics to the study of entrepreneurship policy.