ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY, INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY AND INNOVATION BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Two competing models of innovation behavior in organizations are tested. The first model is derived from the corporate entrepreneurship literature, suggesting that the extent to which the organization has a deliberate entrepreneurship strategy determine employees' involvement in innovation and change (Kanter, 1984). The competing model is derived from the intrapreneurship literature, primarily Pinchot (1985) and Pinchot and Pellman (1999), where the emphasis is on the employee's individual personality measured by items derived from Pinchot's (1985) test: "Are you an intrapreneur?" Both models are compared to a base model that contains relevant control variables. Finally, a fourth model, which combines all variables are compared to the other three. The models are tested using a sample of 634 business graduates employed in a diverse set of occupations and organizations. The results indicate that both the strategy and personality models outperform the base model. Moreover, the model that combines the personality of the individual and the strategy of the organization performs even better than the each of the two models separately.