Management skills and organizational culture as sources of innovation for firms in peripheral regions

The existing literature shows that the knowledge and skills of managers and organizational culture are key elements to innovate. We present a model that explores the relationship of innovation with management skills and some elements of organizational culture. The study has selected indicators previously compiled from the literature, reorganized for the purpose of this research, and the model proposed here has been assessed using a multivariate technique. Through the method of Structural Equation Modeling there were tested and evaluated the causal relationships. We have used a representative survey of 416 companies, which was designed for executives working in different economic sectors. The results provide strong linkages between organizational culture and innovation and contribute clarifying to firms in peripheral regions how the strategies of cultural aspects are above the management skills of managers. Interestingly, management skills have a negative impact on innovations outcomes. This could be explained by the diffuse capabilities. The cultural elements operate at a deeper level, probably due to a deficit in the management and technical training in R&D&I of managers or to the absorptive capacity between employees. Although there is still no clear explanation for these negative senses, this can be a motivation for future analysis.