IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/techno/v126y2023ics0166497223001050.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Being lean: Conceptualizing and operationalizing the Lean Innovation Capability (LIC) of innovative companies

Author

Listed:
  • Johnson, William H.A.
  • Bicen, Pelin
  • Zhu, Zhen

Abstract

This paper describes two studies examining factors associated with successful lean innovation with an aim to develop a capability construct that differentiates between lean and non-lean innovators. In the first study, we use a grounded approach to discover a four-dimension construct called Lean Innovation Capability (LIC). In the second study, we utilized Delphi techniques and surveyed 340 senior managers to further modify, operationalize, and deductively verify the existence and relevance of the LIC construct in a firm's internal and external resource contexts. LIC's nomological validity is significantly supported in a three-way interaction effect with environmental munificence, demonstrating firms with higher levels of LIC successfully innovate with less resources in munificent environments. Thus, we verify the importance and viability of LIC for managing successful lean innovation, albeit with three subdimensions—market-product fit, mission-oriented leadership, and network learning capabilities. The fourth initial subdimension, experimentation culture, was not confirmed in our empirical test suggesting that experimentation may be an important and perhaps necessary component of innovation, but not a characteristic of lean innovation itself. We discuss the contributions of these studies and implications for future research and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Johnson, William H.A. & Bicen, Pelin & Zhu, Zhen, 2023. "Being lean: Conceptualizing and operationalizing the Lean Innovation Capability (LIC) of innovative companies," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:techno:v:126:y:2023:i:c:s0166497223001050
    DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102794
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166497223001050
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102794?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kakabadse, Nada & Kakabadse, Andrew & Lee-Davies, Linda, 2005. "Visioning the Pathway:: A Leadership Process Model," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 237-246, April.
    2. Ossi Pesämaa, 2017. "Personnel- and action control in gazelle companies in Sweden," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 107-132, February.
    3. Frances Westley & Henry Mintzberg, 1989. "Visionary leadership and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 17-32, June.
    4. Marlin, Dan & Geiger, Scott W., 2015. "A reexamination of the organizational slack and innovation relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2683-2690.
    5. Solaimani, Sam & Haghighi Talab, Ardalan & van der Rhee, Bo, 2019. "An integrative view on Lean innovation management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 109-120.
    6. Hoegl, Martin & Gibbert, Michael & Mazursky, David, 2008. "Financial constraints in innovation projects: When is less more?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1382-1391, September.
    7. Rikard Larsson & Lars Bengtsson & Kristina Henriksson & Judith Sparks, 1998. "The Interorganizational Learning Dilemma: Collective Knowledge Development in Strategic Alliances," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 285-305, June.
    8. Neil A. Morgan & Douglas W. Vorhies & Charlotte H. Mason, 2009. "Market orientation, marketing capabilities, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 909-920, August.
    9. Yuri Mishina & Timothy G. Pollock & Joseph F. Porac, 2004. "Are more resources always better for growth? Resource stickiness in market and product expansion," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(12), pages 1179-1197, December.
    10. Michael Perelman, 2011. "Retrospectives: X-Efficiency," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 211-222, Fall.
    11. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    12. Chakravarty, Sanghamitra, 2022. "Resource constrained innovation in a technology intensive sector: Frugal medical devices from manufacturing firms in South Africa," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    13. Peter Ebbes & Michel Wedel & Ulf Böckenholt & Ton Steerneman, 2005. "Solving and Testing for Regressor-Error (in)Dependence When no Instrumental Variables are Available: With New Evidence for the Effect of Education on Income," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 365-392, December.
    14. Abbie Griffin & John R. Hauser, 1993. "The Voice of the Customer," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27.
    15. Sanjay Kumar Singh & Manlio Del Giudice & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Hengky Latan & Amrik Singh Sohal, 2022. "Stakeholder pressure, green innovation, and performance in small and medium‐sized enterprises: The role of green dynamic capabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 500-514, January.
    16. Rajdeep Grewal & Joseph A. Cote & Hans Baumgartner, 2004. "Multicollinearity and Measurement Error in Structural Equation Models: Implications for Theory Testing," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 519-529, June.
    17. Dwivedi, Abhishek & Weerawardena, Jay, 2018. "Conceptualizing and operationalizing the social entrepreneurship construct," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 32-40.
    18. Åsa Lindholm-Dahlstrand & Martin Andersson & Bo Carlsson, 2019. "Entrepreneurial experimentation: a key function in systems of innovation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 591-610, October.
    19. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    20. Michael Gibbert & Winfried Ruigrok & Barbara Wicki, 2008. "What passes as a rigorous case study?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(13), pages 1465-1474, December.
    21. Bruce Kogut, 2000. "The network as knowledge: generative rules and the emergence of structure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 405-425, March.
    22. Bantel, Karen A., 1998. "Technology-based, "adolescent" firm configurations: strategy identification, context, and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 205-230, May.
    23. Bicen, Pelin & Kamarudin, Suzilawati & Johnson, William H.A., 2014. "Validating new product creativity in the eastern context of Malaysia," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2877-2883.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mitrega, Maciej & Siemieniako, Dariusz & Makkonen, Hannu & Kubacki, Krzysztof & Bresciani, Stefano, 2021. "Versatile capabilities for growth in the context of transforming countries: Evidence from Polish manufacturing companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 156-170.
    2. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Donbesuur, Francis & Ahsan, Mujtaba & Danso, Albert & Uddin, Moshfique, 2022. "Strategic agility of SMEs in emerging economies: Antecedents, consequences and boundary conditions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    3. Jasna Prester, 2023. "Operating and Dynamic Capabilities and Their Impact on Operating and Business Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-24, October.
    4. Anja Schulze & Stefano Brusoni, 2022. "How dynamic capabilities change ordinary capabilities: Reconnecting attention control and problem‐solving," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 2447-2477, December.
    5. İpek, İlayda & Bıçakcıoğlu-Peynirci, Nilay, 2020. "Export market orientation: An integrative review and directions for future research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4).
    6. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    7. Kindström, Daniel & Kowalkowski, Christian & Sandberg, Erik, 2013. "Enabling service innovation: A dynamic capabilities approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1063-1073.
    8. Aeron, Prageet & Jain, Rekha, 2011. "Identification of Marketing Capabilities: A study on Indian product based B2B Telecom start-ups," IIMA Working Papers WP2011-02-08, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    9. Heimeriks, K. & Duysters, G.M. & Vanhaverbeke, W.P.M., 2004. "The evolution of alliance capabilities," Working Papers 04.20, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    10. Jan-Erik Vahlne & Jan Johanson, 2017. "From internationalization to evolution: The Uppsala model at 40 years," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(9), pages 1087-1102, December.
    11. Bhattarai, Charan Raj & Kwong, Caleb C.Y. & Tasavori, Misagh, 2019. "Market orientation, market disruptiveness capability and social enterprise performance: An empirical study from the United Kingdom," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 47-60.
    12. John Mugambwa Serumaga-Zake & John Andrew van der Poll, 2021. "Addressing the Impact of Fourth Industrial Revolution on South African Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, October.
    13. Kazeminia, Ali, 2021. "Unfolding the airbus’ strategic growth: A successful case," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(1).
    14. André van Stel & Lorraine Uhlaner & Haibo Zhou & Valerie Duplat, 2012. "Disentangling the effects of organizational capabilities, innovation and firm size on SME sales growth," Scales Research Reports H201211, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    15. Sok, Phyra & O’Cass, Aron & Sok, Keo Mony, 2013. "Achieving superior SME performance: Overarching role of marketing, innovation, and learning capabilities," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 161-167.
    16. Filipe M. Santos & Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 2005. "Organizational Boundaries and Theories of Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 491-508, October.
    17. Liu, Yi & Liao, Yonghai & Li, Yuan, 2018. "Capability configuration, ambidexterity and performance: Evidence from service outsourcing sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 343-352.
    18. Casanueva, Cristóbal & Gallego, Ángeles & Castro, Ignacio & Sancho, María, 2014. "Airline alliances: Mobilizing network resources," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 88-98.
    19. Enkel, Ellen & Sagmeister, Veronika, 2020. "External corporate venturing modes as new way to develop dynamic capabilities," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 96.
    20. Pinho, José Carlos & Prange, Christiane, 2016. "The effect of social networks and dynamic internationalization capabilities on international performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 391-403.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:techno:v:126:y:2023:i:c:s0166497223001050. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01664972 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.