- Title
- The impact of culture on innovation propensity in construction small-to-medium enterprises and sole traders
- Creator
- Lijauco, Fredelino Adlus
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2020
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of organisational culture on the innovation propensity of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry. Current research mainly supports the view that innovation is within the control of firm management, which means that innovation studies have largely focused on understanding how internal organisational factors affect innovation. Less is known about the combined effect of internal and external factors on innovation in small firms from a cultural perspective. In addition, research has generally fallen short of providing coherent findings or advice to construction small business managers on innovation management, mainly because of the range of factors and contingencies involved. Organisational culture is related to the characteristics and assumptions underlying leadership, business relationships, market orientation, and workforce capacity. Innovation propensity is the degree to which a firm is inclined to achieve a state of innovativeness by design. The theoretical models developed from the literature for Small and Medium Enterprises (referred to simply as SMEs) and sole traders (also referred to as non-employing enterprises) were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with survey data collected from the construction industry in Tasmania. The relationships between cultural factors and innovation propensity were further explained using qualitative analysis of interviews with innovative construction SMEs and sole traders. The findings from the convergent quantitative-qualitative phases and literature were synthesised and conclusions and implications were drawn. The findings indicate that market orientation moderately influences innovation propensity in both SMEs and sole trader firms. Business relationships to a certain extent also influence innovation propensity in both SMEs and sole trader firms. In addition, leadership somewhat influences innovation propensity in sole trader firms and, similarly, workforce capacity influences innovation propensity in SMEs. Finally, for innovation to be taken up it needs to at least provide a clear financial benefit to the firm. Innovation propensity in SMEs and sole trader firms is a function of the materialisation of that benefit.The research findings can assist construction SMEs and sole traders improve their innovation propensity by anticipating issues and understanding and dealing with the cultural factors that are critical to the relevant innovation. They may also provide some guidance to policy makers as to how best to facilitate innovation in SMEs and sole traders based on a good understanding of their cultural characteristics. Construction innovation is much more than technological change and is often the outcome of a social process. This outcome is significant because culture and innovation studies that focus particularly on construction SMEs and sole traders are rare.
- Subject
- organisational culture; innovation propensity; SME; sole trader
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1413428
- Identifier
- uon:36628
- Rights
- Copyright 2020 Fredelino Adlus Lijauco
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |