۱- Introduction

۲- Theoretical background

۳- Theory and hypotheses

۴- Methodology

۵- Analyses and results

۶- Discussion

۷- Limitations and future research

۸- Theoretical implications

۹- Managerial implications

۱۰- Conclusion

References

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the relationship between organizational innovation (OI) and technological innovation capabilities (TICs) and analyzes their effect on firm performance. Using a sample of 265 manufacturing firms from the Pearl River Delta in China, we examined whether TICs mediated the effects of OI on firm performance. We also examined how OI moderated the relationship between TICs and firm performance. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses showed that TICs partially mediated the relationship between OI and firm performance. Similarly, OI partially moderated the relationship between TICs and firm performance. Implications of our findings for research and practice are discussed.

Introduction

Organizational innovation (OI) is important because it leads to increased firm performance and brings new organizational methods and resources to firms’ business practices, workplaces, or innovation activities and thus influences both the nature and the outcomes of innovation (Camisón and Villar-López 2014; Damanpour and Evan 1984; Evangelista and Vezzani 2010; OECD/Eurostat 2005). Although there is general consensus about OI being the source of superior performance and although there are a number of papers that investigate the determinants of process, product, and OI (e.g., Ballot et al. 2015; Evangelista and Vezzani 2010; Camisón and VillarLópez 2014; Carboni and Russu 2018; Lee, Lee, and Garrett 2018), less is known about the possible relationships between OI and TICs that lead a firm to attain superior performance. Previous research in this area has tended to focus on process and product innovation merged from the TIC perspective; additionally, variables have been examined in isolation and sometimes have been included with no clear theoretical rationale. This approach has resulted in an extensive list of possible antecedents but few consistent findings; thus, we focus on an OI – TICs – and examine its effect on superior performance.