Fundamentals of Management, 11/e

Creating an Innovative Culture

Innovation was also introduced in Chapter 1 as an important issue for organizations and managers. How important is culture to innovation? More than half of senior executives surveyed said that the most important driver of innovation for companies was a supportive culture.42 But not every company has established a culture that fosters innovation. In fact, in a survey of employees, about half expressed that a culture of management support is very important to generating innovative ideas, but only 20 percent believed that management actually provides such support.43

What does an innovative culture look like? Here’s one perspective offered by Swedish researcher Goran Ekvall:44

• Challenge and involvement: Are employees ...