The link between nontechnological innovations and technological innovation

Purpose This paper aims to provide evidence of the major role of nontechnological activities in the innovation process. It seeks to highlight the effects of marketing and organizational innovation strategies on technological innovation performance. Designmethodologyapproach The paper tests theoretic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of innovation management 2010-08, Vol.13 (3), p.313-332
Main Authors: Mothe, Caroline, Uyen Nguyen Thi, Thuc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Corporate strategy
Innovation
Luxembourg
Organizational performance
Organizations
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Purpose This paper aims to provide evidence of the major role of nontechnological activities in the innovation process. It seeks to highlight the effects of marketing and organizational innovation strategies on technological innovation performance. Designmethodologyapproach The paper tests theoretical hypotheses on a sample of 555 firms of the Fourth Community Innovation Survey CIS 4 in 2006 in Luxembourg. Data are analyzed through a generalized Tobit model. Findings Evidence is found to support the impact of innovation in the marketing and organization fields on a firm's capacity to innovate, but not on the innovative performance. The paper also statistically shows that the effects of nontechnological innovation differ depending on the phase of the innovation process. Research limitationsimplications The causal link and the question of time frame between the various innovations could be further investigated, especially through longitudinal studies. Further research should also focus on the differences between large versus small firms, and service versus industrial firms. Practical implications The effects of nontechnological innovation are not the same according to whether the firm is in the first step of the innovation process i.e. being innovative, or in a later step i.e. innovative performance. Managers should be aware of these various effects in order to efficiently adopt nontechnological innovation strategies. Originalityvalue Few works have taken into account the role of other innovative strategies such as marketing and organization. As far as is known, this is the first study based on recent CIS data that looks at the interrelations between different types of innovation.
ISSN:1460-1060
DOI:10.1108/14601061011060148