Factors Affecting Innovation Performance of Turkish SMEs: Empowering Leadership Behaviors and Innovation-Enhancing Human Resource Management Practices
Project Manager:
Ceyda Maden Eyiusta
Section:
Business
Research Areas:
Organizational Behavior
Project Start Year:
2019
Project End Year:
2022
Phone:
0(216) 564 9269
E-Mail:
About the Project:
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in creating employment, developing technological innovations and new products, and achieving the growth targets, particularly in developing countries like Turkey. However, Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) Statistics show that between 2012 and 2014, only 51% of the SMEs performed innovation activities in Turkey while this ratio was 65% in other firms (TUIK, 2015). In this context, it is important to examine the different managerial and organizational factors influencing the innovation performance of Turkish SMEs.
This research project aims to investigate whether and how empowering leadership and innovation-enhancing human resource management (HRM) practices influence individual and organizational innovativeness in Turkish SMEs by shaping employees’ psychological attitudes and organizational climate. In this project, research hypotheses will be tested with a dataset involving the survey responses of 700 employees and their immediate supervisors/business owners working in 140 SMEs in the 9 different cities in Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Adana, Antalya, Mersin, Konya, Kocaeli), which comprise 61% of the SME employees in Turkey. Research hypotheses will be tested using hierarchical linear modeling.
Project Finding:
This project illustrates the current situation regarding the empowering leadership behaviors and innovation-enhancing HRM practices in Turkish SMEs. It also provides insights to SME owners/managers about those behaviors and practices that increase individual and organizational innovation. Another important outcome of this project is the development of a self-assessment tool which can be used by SME owners/managers to evaluate different aspects of their enterprises’ innovativeness. Findings of this project will be shared with the participant firms and related organizations in the final sittings and through an on-line research report. They will help the identification and implementation of specific leadership behaviors and HRM practices that influence the employee innovativeness and innovation performance in SMEs. Project team plans to publish project’s most significant results in reputable sectoral and academic journals.