Reconsidering Firm Innovativeness

Abstract

Firm innovativeness refers to an organization’s overall capability to engage in new ideas and concepts that may result in the implementation of new processes or the introduction of new products. Thus, firm innovativeness comprehensively captures an organization’s potential to innovate and not the actual action of implementation and introduction of innovations. Firm innovativeness is perceived as a critical asset (Rubera & Kirca, 2012) and has been subject of a large body of research on innovation and innovativeness. Over decades a vast amount of definitions, conceptualizations and measurement models of ‘innovation’ and ‘innovativeness’ evolved.