Configurational paths to organizational innovation: qualitative comparative analyses of antecedents and contingencies

Abstract

To explore complex patterns of causal interrelationships between antecedents of organizational innovation, this study applies fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to a large sample of German firms drawn from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The results show several equifinal configurations of contextual factors leading to organizational innovation. Evidence also suggests complex substitutive and complementary relationships between factors and reveals their causal asymmetric influence on firm's innovation behavior. These findings help explain some inconsistent results in prior studies on organizational innovation.