How process improvement efforts can drive organisational innovativeness

In this study, we draw upon literature in technology and innovation management to theorise about how process improvement efforts in organisations can drive the exploratory activity that is generally associated with more radical forms of innovation. We develop a set of propositions on how process improvement efforts might directly and indirectly drive exploration and more radical forms of organisational innovation. These propositions are organised into four categories: (1) ‘Direct’ – how exploratory forms of process improvement can directly drive innovativeness; (2) ‘Resource Capacity’ – how process improvement can increase the resource capacity that drives innovativeness; (3) ‘Knowledge’ – how process improvement efforts can strengthen knowledge resources that drive innovativeness; and (4) ‘Management Vision’ – how process improvement efforts can influence the managerial vision that moderates the effect of process improvement efforts on innovativeness.