A Multi-level study of the antecedent factors of innovation : case studies of Thai small and medium-size enterprises
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2016
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2559
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eng
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296 leaves
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b194223
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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National Institute of Development Administration. Library and Information Center
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Wichuwan Satsomboon (2016). A Multi-level study of the antecedent factors of innovation : case studies of Thai small and medium-size enterprises. Retrieved from: https://repository.nida.ac.th/handle/662723737/5403.
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A Multi-level study of the antecedent factors of innovation : case studies of Thai small and medium-size enterprises
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Abstract
In today’s economy, innovation is regarded as an essential tool for the
organizations to succeed in the global market. As a result, many organizations are
trying to produce innovative products and services to serve the customers’ needs.
However, not all organizations have become successful in achieving innovation, and
there are a variety of factors that influence creativity and innovation within the firms.
Thus, the current study provides a broad understanding of the antecedent factors that
foster and impede innovation in Thai small and medium-size enterprises in various
industries. A multi-level study at the individual, group, and organizational level is
provided in order to gain greater understanding of the particular issues. Further, as
human resources play a very significant role in facilitating innovation within firms,
various interventions are suggested in this study.
In addition, this study deployed the inductive approach using qualitative case studies. The data were collected through interviews with 30 managers and 30 staff members in 13 Thai SMEs in Bangkok and metropolitan areas. The case study companies were recommended by the National Innovation Agency and were selected based on the random sampling technique. Conventional content analysis along with the three-phase procedure of data analysis proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994) were deployed to analyze the data.
The findings of this study suggested a variety of points. First, the concept of innovation from the various viewpoints of the participants was described following 5 themes: 1) new and unique products and services; 2) improvement of existing products and services; 3) new technology; 4) new solutions and processes; and 5) long-term investment.
Second, the antecedent factors that foster innovation at the individual, group, and organizational level were explored. At the individual level, 3 themes were identified: 1) skills and knowledge, 2) motivation, and 3) personality. At the group level, 4 themes were derived from the findings; 1) diversity/ group structure, 2) cohesiveness, 3) group leader, and 4) team climate. At the organizational level, the following themes were described: 1) organizational encouragement; 2) supervisory encouragement; 3) freedom; 4) resources; 5) HR activities and policy; and 6) customer orientation.
Third, the antecedent factors that impede innovation in the small and mediumsize enterprises in Thailand were elaborated according to the following: 1) time limitations/workload; 2) financial problems; 3) lack of facilities and resources; 4) communication failure; 5) unsupportive management; 6) difficulty in recruiting creative employees; and 7) internal process problem.
The implications for scholars include: the utilization of mixed methods and data triangulation, which could enhance the quality of the research, and the recruiting of more participants from different settings in order to explore the phenomena and to be able to generalize the findings to various countries.
The implications for practice emphasized how to apply the findings as HR interventions in order to facilitate innovation within the firms. The interventions suggested in this study included: selection and staffing, compensation and benefits, training and development, diversity management, creating an organizational climate that supports innovation, and retaining employees/talent management.
Key limitations in this study included the fact that the qualitative approach using interviews and observations was the only major method used to identify the research questions for this study, limitations regarding the language used in this study, and the small number of participants, which limited the study in terms of being able to generalize the findings beyond the sample group.
In addition, this study deployed the inductive approach using qualitative case studies. The data were collected through interviews with 30 managers and 30 staff members in 13 Thai SMEs in Bangkok and metropolitan areas. The case study companies were recommended by the National Innovation Agency and were selected based on the random sampling technique. Conventional content analysis along with the three-phase procedure of data analysis proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994) were deployed to analyze the data.
The findings of this study suggested a variety of points. First, the concept of innovation from the various viewpoints of the participants was described following 5 themes: 1) new and unique products and services; 2) improvement of existing products and services; 3) new technology; 4) new solutions and processes; and 5) long-term investment.
Second, the antecedent factors that foster innovation at the individual, group, and organizational level were explored. At the individual level, 3 themes were identified: 1) skills and knowledge, 2) motivation, and 3) personality. At the group level, 4 themes were derived from the findings; 1) diversity/ group structure, 2) cohesiveness, 3) group leader, and 4) team climate. At the organizational level, the following themes were described: 1) organizational encouragement; 2) supervisory encouragement; 3) freedom; 4) resources; 5) HR activities and policy; and 6) customer orientation.
Third, the antecedent factors that impede innovation in the small and mediumsize enterprises in Thailand were elaborated according to the following: 1) time limitations/workload; 2) financial problems; 3) lack of facilities and resources; 4) communication failure; 5) unsupportive management; 6) difficulty in recruiting creative employees; and 7) internal process problem.
The implications for scholars include: the utilization of mixed methods and data triangulation, which could enhance the quality of the research, and the recruiting of more participants from different settings in order to explore the phenomena and to be able to generalize the findings to various countries.
The implications for practice emphasized how to apply the findings as HR interventions in order to facilitate innovation within the firms. The interventions suggested in this study included: selection and staffing, compensation and benefits, training and development, diversity management, creating an organizational climate that supports innovation, and retaining employees/talent management.
Key limitations in this study included the fact that the qualitative approach using interviews and observations was the only major method used to identify the research questions for this study, limitations regarding the language used in this study, and the small number of participants, which limited the study in terms of being able to generalize the findings beyond the sample group.
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Thesis (Ph.D. (Human Resource and Organization Development))--National Institute of Development Administration, 2016