Innovation focus and middle‐up‐down management model

Abstract

Purpose -This research aims to measure the extent manufacturing companies from the Basque region (Spain), which place a greater emphasis on innovation, have adapted their management context in accordance with the middle-up-down management model put forward by Nonaka and Takeuchi and Nonaka et al. The study explores whether the degree of adoption of the aforementioned model is influenced by contingency factors such as company size or technological level. Design/methodology/approach -An ad hoc questionnaire was addressed to the chief executive officers of the companies. Structural equation modelling based on partial least squares was used to test the main hypotheses of the research. Findings -Firms which develop a higher organizational learning capacity put a greater emphasis on innovation. Additionally, the innovation focus of companies is positively related to the implementation of management systems which are more in accordance with the middle-up-down management model, and the degree of adoption of the aforementioned model is not influenced by company size or technological level. Originality/value -The approach taken in the research serves the purpose of linking extremely abstract concepts from the middle-up-down model with specific elements from the management context. It also contributes to the development of empirical research in the domain of organizational learning, aimed at clarifying the relationship between organizational learning capacity and innovation orientation. The research contributes towards a better understanding of the degree of adoption of such a model in the Basque region, paving the way for future comparative studies which might take other regions of the world into consideration.

From Entrepreneurial Orientation and Learning Orientation to Business Performance: Analysing the Mediating Role of Organizational Learning and the Moderating Effects of Organizational Size

“…This approach allows the testing of the moderating role of organizational size on the relationships included in our research model. Examples of multi-group comparisons considering organizational size as a moderator variable can be consulted in Fink andNeumann (2009), Saenz, Aramburu andRivera (2007) and Simonin (2004). The multi-group comparison entails dividing the sample into groups according to the moderator variable.…”

Knowledge creation processes in small innovative hi‐tech firms

“…Effective knowledge creation depends on an enabling context, called ''Ba'' (Nonaka and Teece, 2001;Sáenz et al, 2007). ''Ba'' is a boundless context shared by those who interact with each other; through such interactions, participants and context (''ba'') evolve to create knowledge.…”

“…Knowledge has become an essential source of value generation and sustainable competitive advantage (Teece, 2005;Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). The ability of small hi-tech firms to create knowledge relentlessly and manage it strategically is viewed as critical to organizational success and survival (Inkpen and Dinur, 1998;Nonaka and Teece, 2001;Desouza and Awazu, 2006;Sáenz et al, 2007). Firms that develop and leverage knowledge resources achieve greater success than firms who are more dependent on tangible resources (Autio et al, 2000).…”

Towards a framework for innovation orientation within business and management studies

“…Whilst a range of key definitions is utilised within the innovation orientation research field, the research has not settled on one widely accepted definition and instead much of the empirical investigations either do not define innovation orientation (n ¼ 24) (e.g. Pearson, 1993;Dobni, 2006;Saenz et al, 2007;Prajogo and McDermott, 2014;Zobel et al, 2017) or utilised a range of definitions without selecting a firm single definition on which to frame the study (n ¼ 6) (e.g. Grinstein, 2008;Chou and Yang, 2011;Kraiczy et al, 2014;Lee et al, 2016).…”