University Innovation in Malaysia Public Research Universities: An Empirical Analysis of Organizational Innovation and Innovation Resources

Purpose: This study examines the determinants of university innovation in Malaysia’s public research universities. It investigates the direct relationships between organizational structure, organizational culture, and innovation leadership and their influence on university innovation, while assessing the moderating role of innovation resources. Design/methodology approach: Drawing on Innovation Management, the Triple Helix Model, and the Resource-Based View (RBV), a conceptual framework was developed and tested using survey data from 191 research-active academic staff across five universities. Factor analysis and reliability tests validated the measures, followed by correlation and regression analyses. Findings: Results show that organizational culture, innovation leadership, and innovation resources positively influence university innovation, whereas organizational structure demonstrates an inverse relationship. Innovation resources consistently exhibit an inverse moderating effect, indicating that excessive reliance on these resources can dilute the positive influence of structure, culture, and leadership. Practical implications: Motivated by the evident performance gap in patent activities across Asia and the inconsistent linkage between organizational innovation and university innovation outcomes, the research highlights how internal organizational factors shape innovation performance. Originality value: The findings underscore that while innovation resources are essential, universities must balance resource deployment with flexible structures, an innovation-oriented culture, and strategic leadership to achieve sustainable and impactful innovation outcomes.