From strategies to innovation: an empirical study from Spain

ABSTRACT Innovation is a necessary condition to succeed in the market. Having literature on innovation and business strategy as a basis, this paper investigates the associations between organisational strategies, management, general company characteristics and the results of innovation. A survey was conducted among executive positions and those responsible for the R&D departments in Spanish companies that have had a contractual relationship with the main public research organisation, the Spanish National Research Council. Based on this data gained from 794 companies, we employ a multiple regression analysis and find statistically significant relationships between managerial/organisational characteristics and the outputs of innovation. The findings of this research suggest that the innovativeness of firms depends on management strategies that support and promote the contribution of new ideas, interdepartmental work teams, or conducting market research, being this style of profile positively associated with business innovation outputs. Thus, we extend the evidence brought by previous research by bringing a new specific case from Spain and, more importantly, by combining all the above-mentioned factors together.

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