Title: Exploring the link between technical and management innovation: the moderating effects of firm size and type of innovation

Authors: Frédéric Le Roy; Marc Robert; Philippe Giuliani

Addresses: Montpellier Business School, Montpellier Research in Management (MRM), University of Montpellier, Espace Richter – Bat B, Rue vendémiaire CS 19519, 34960 Montpellier Cedex 2, France ' Montpellier Business School, Montpellier Research in Management (MRM), 2300, Avenue des Moulins, 34185 Montpellier Cedex 4, France ' Montpellier Business School, Montpellier Research in Management (MRM), 2300, Avenue des Moulins, 34185 Montpellier Cedex 4, France

Abstract: This article studies the link between technical and management innovation. Two types of technical innovation are identified: product and process innovation. The effect of the size of the firm is also taken into account. We presume that the more innovative a firm is in products and processes, the more innovative it will be in management. We also presume that firm size has an effect on the link between technical and management innovation. We test these hypotheses on 20,542 companies in the French CIS database. To begin, the results show that product and process innovation are positively linked to management innovation. Secondly, the results also show that process innovation is more strongly linked to management innovation than product innovation. Thirdly, the results further demonstrate that the link between technical and management innovation is valid regardless of firm size and last, but not least, that the link between technical and management innovation is stronger for small firms.

Keywords: management innovation; product innovation; process innovation; technical innovation; small firms; medium-sized firms; large firms; innovations types; France; firm size; SMEs; small businesses.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2015.069284

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2015 Vol.25 No.2, pp.171 - 191

Published online: 08 May 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article