Changes in Innovation Styles

The transformation from a start-up company to a mature company asks often for dramatic change of capabilities to sustain innovations and business success. Increasing maturity results in the need to adjust the innovation style of a company.

The study combines the theoretical frameworks of entrepreneurship and innovation management and it explores the changes in innovation styles while companies grow in various dimensions to outline a pattern for innovation and success. The key theories on innovation and entrepreneurship are discussed, but much more emphasis is put on broadening the context of how innovation is influenced by different relevant factors.

The study outlines how innovation and success is measured and also the degree of influence that market orientation, knowledge management, diversification, learning, diverse management capabilities, resource allocation, organisational and inter- organisational networks have on the success probabilities of a company. Twelve hypotheses have been tested against the impact of radical and incremental innovations. In addtion, a new model to predict companies’ success is introduced.