Climate for innovation and innovation strategy as drivers for success in the wood industry: moderation effects of firm size, industry sector, and country of operation

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between firm financial performance and a) the climate for innovation and b) innovation strategy in the wood products industry. The focus is on the moderator effects of firm size, country of operation, and industry sector. Using a sample of 460 responses from chief executive officers and top managers of Norwegian and US firms, we conducted a regression analysis to probe for interaction effects. The sample included primary and secondary manufacturers of various sizes. Consistent with previous studies, we found a positive impact for both a climate for innovation and an innovation strategy on firm performance. In terms of moderation, only one interaction was found to be significant, representing a moderator effect of industry × size on the climate-performance relationship. Further testing showed that secondary, large manufacturers exhibited a weaker, yet still positive, relationship between climate for innovation and performance. This low level of significant interactions suggests stability of the relationship among the main factors depicted in the model, with important implications for managers and future research. These findings indicate that a positive climate for innovation and a management committed to innovation through an innovation strategy have a positive effect on the bottom line of wood products firms. This effect holds true regardless of industry, size, or country, so most firms can benefit from the implementation of these pro-innovation practices.

Understanding Employee Innovative Behavior and Thriving at Work: A Chinese Perspective

“…Many studies have shown that context is very important to engage employees with their job and encourage them to contribute more towards the organization (e.g., (Amabile et al 1996;Gilson and Shalley 2004;Hunter et al 2007;Nybakk et al 2011)). In the organizational literature, thriving reflects the joint experience of vitality and learning, and enables employees to grow continually; for example, Ryff (1989) suggested that when individuals grow, they consider themselves to be expanding in ways that reflect enhanced self-knowledge and effectiveness.…”

Intellectual capital and innovativeness in software development firms: the moderating role of firm size

“…The possible moderating effect of firm size is drawn from previous studies showing that firm size can act as a moderator in innovation research (Nybakk, Crispell, & Hansen, 2011;Khan, Rehman, & Fatima, 2009). Khan et al (2009) found that firm size moderates the relationship between transformational leadership and firms' innovativeness.…”

Innovation Insights from North American Forest Sector Research: A Literature Review

“…The mentioned studies have all been conducted in the U.S. However, Nybakk et al [51] compared the U.S. wood industry with Norway and found that the innovation climate for innovation's effect on firm performance was consistent, regardless of the country of operation, industry sector, size or country. The similarities in these results could be connected to the fact that the countries have a similar Western culture and wealth status.…”

“…The similarities in these results could be connected to the fact that the countries have a similar Western culture and wealth status. Results could differ in non-Western countries or post-communist countries transitioning to a market-based economy [51].…”