Project Team: Ms. Margaret Walsh ([email protected]), Dr. Patrick Lynch ([email protected]), Dr. Denis Harrington ([email protected]), Dr. Mary T. Holden ([email protected])
This project is part funded by the Irish Technology Research Strand 1 and RIKON Research Fund. It has a lead time of 4 years and is due for completion October 2013.
The Project Aim
Different from traditional innovation studies, this research takes the view that a firm’s long-term survival may rely more on overall firm-level innovativeness that produces organisational capabilities, which in turn enhances innovative behaviour and less on the actual innovations themselves. Simply stated, project innovation success does not necessarily imply firm-level success, yet firm-level innovativeness is a necessary prerequisite for long-term organisational survival. Hence, the defining factor of long-term survival through innovation appears based not on specific, discrete innovations but rather on an overarching, organisation-wide innovation capability structure, termed innovativeness. Thus, the research examines a new thematic niche area within the literature by measuring overall firm-level innovativeness and the factors that shape it as opposed to specific, once-off innovations.
Methods
To progress the development of a diagnostic model that measures firmlevel innovativeness and prescribes the factors that shape it, the research will adopt a mixed-methodological approach. This comprises qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews in order to validate and refine the conceptual model and inform subsequent stages of data collection. The second phase comprises a national study in the form of a survey.
Engagement
This study will involve significant industry engagement through a National survey of Irish firms.
Impact
The major anticipated outcome of this research will be that firm level innovativeness will be conceptualized and an operational scale will be developed to measure the concept.
RIKON 2013.