Radical Innovation across Nations: The Preeminence of Corporate Culture

2009/01/01 by Gerard J. Tellis, Jaideep C. Prabhu, Jaideep Prabhu +2 · 446 citations
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Business #Capital (architecture) #Commercialization #Economic Growth and Development #Economics #Firm Innovation and Growth #Government (linguistics) #Industrial organization #Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting #Management #Marketing #Organizational culture

paper · doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.1.003

published in Journal of Marketing 73(1), 3-23 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2009/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Radical innovation is an important driver of the growth, success, and wealth of firms and nations. Because of its importance, authors across various disciplines have proposed many theories about the drivers of such innovation, including government policy and labor, capital, and culture at the national level. The authors contrast these theories with one based on the corporate culture of the firm. They test their theory using survey and archival data from 759 firms across 17 major economies of the world. The results suggest the following: First, among the factors studied, corporate culture is the strongest driver of radical innovation across nations; culture consists of three attitudes and three practices. Second, the commercialization of radical innovations translates into a firm's financial performance; it is a stronger predictor of financial performance than other popular measures, such as patents. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.

Citations

• Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations
• The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability
• A Multiple-Layer Model of Market-Oriented Organizational Culture: Measurement Issues and Performance Outcomes
• Market Orientation: A Meta-Analytic Review and Assessment of its Antecedents and Impact on Performance
• Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies.
• The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.

Cited by

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• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Ideation Process
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• A meta-analysis of the relationship between collaborative innovation and innovation performance: The role of formal and informal institutions
• The influence of big data analytic capabilities building and education on business model innovation. [europepmc]
• Entrepreneurial Curiosity, Innovativeness of the Entrepreneur, and Company Growth. [europepmc]
• Organizational culture and leadership style in Spanish Hospitals: Effects on knowledge management and efficiency. [europepmc]
• Market reaction to the announcement of online sales channel investment in enterprises: Evidence from a relatively stable market environment [europepmc]

Related

• National culture and cultural orientations of owners affecting the innovation–growth relationship in five countries
• SYNERGY OR CONFLICT? THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE, SUSTAINABILITY-RELATED INNOVATION PERFORMANCE, AND ECONOMIC INNOVATION PERFORMANCE
• Measuring Corporate Culture Using Machine Learning
• Innovation or imitation? The role of organizational culture
• The impact of organizational culture on a firm's capability to innovate the business model