Innovation culture: A review of the literature

Abstract

     The growing necessity of innovation in business has led many actors to investigate its determinants and characteristics from different angles. Many authors have identified positive relationships between organizational culture and innovation. The cultural characteristics that support the generation of innovation constitute what is commonly known as innovation culture. Research interest in this phenomenon have increased in the last two decades.  However, it seems there is still a lot to be studied in the field. This work presents the results of a review of published empirical research in certain electronic data bases in the past ten years on the culture of innovation phenomenon within companies. Findings suggest there’s still a relatively small amount of research, which reveals great opportunities to grow and dig on the current stock of knowledge, especially from a qualitative research focus (as opposed to a quantitative one); and from an interpretative or naturalist paradigm, as opposed to a positivist or neopositivist one. This is probably the first exercise of its kind on the previously mentioned phenomenon.