Antecedents of innovation implementation: a review of literature with meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose Assessing the antecedents of innovation implementation holds importance for companies, as previous studies have shown that without proper implementation the innovation is doomed to fail. Over the past few years, research on innovation implementation is growing. However, the evidence on the antecedents of innovation implementation is inconsistent. The purpose of the study is to conduct a review of the literature using meta-analysis to summarize the divergent views present in the literature. Design/methodology/approach A meta-analysis technique is adopted for reviewing the literature. The literature search was conducted with selected keywords in different databases and top journals from the ABDC list (A* and A). Findings The results of the meta-analysis that summarize evidence from 42 papers, 100 effect sizes and 32,223 organizations show the significance and homogeneous/heterogeneous opinions of the past studies. Results reveal the homogeneity in antecedents such as transformational leadership, business collaboration, employee competency, leader competency, absorptive capacity and business size and heterogeneity in the antecedents such as communication, customer collaboration, internal entrainment, external entrainment, implementation climate and strategic resources. Research limitations/implications The results imply that managers attempting to implement innovation in the organizations need to first focus on homogenous antecedents followed by heterogeneous antecedents for successful implementation. Originality/value This study advocates research on innovation implementation. It tests the significance, nature of the relationship and summarizes the divergent views on antecedents of innovation implementation in an organization. The results of this study can also be used in the theoretical advancement of management innovation literature.