article id 110,
                            category
                        Research article
                    
        
                                    
                                    
                            Abstract |
                        
                                    View details
                             |
                            
Full text in PDF |
                        
Author Info
            
                            This study examines the relationships between firm financial performance  and a) the climate for innovation and b) innovation strategy in the  wood products industry. The focus is on the moderator effects of firm  size, country of operation, and industry sector. Using a sample of 460  responses from chief executive officers and top managers of Norwegian  and US firms, we conducted a regression analysis to probe for  interaction effects. The sample included primary and secondary  manufacturers of various sizes. Consistent with previous studies, we  found a positive impact for both a climate for innovation and an  innovation strategy on firm performance. In terms of moderation, only  one interaction was found to be significant, representing a moderator  effect of industry   size on the climate-performance relationship.  Further testing showed that secondary, large manufacturers exhibited a  weaker, yet still positive, relationship between climate for innovation  and performance. This low level of significant interactions suggests  stability of the relationship among the main factors depicted in the  model, with important implications for managers and future research.  These findings indicate that a positive climate for innovation and a  management committed to innovation through an innovation strategy have a  positive effect on the bottom line of wood products firms. This effect  holds true regardless of industry, size, or country, so most firms can  benefit from the implementation of these pro-innovation practices.
                        
                
                                            - 
                            Nybakk,
                            Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, P.O. Box 115, N-1431 Ås, Norway
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            nye@skogoglandskap.no
                                                                                          
- 
                            Crespell,
                            FPInnovations (Forintek Division), Vancouver, BC, Canada
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            pc@nn.fi
                                                                                
- 
                            Hansen,
                            Oregon State University, College of Forestry, OR, USA
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            eh@nn.us