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Innovation output around the world is concentrated in very few economies possessing the requisite skills, knowledge and market acumen to capitalize on emerging technologies. Within the broader European Union, Central and Eastern Europe countries persistently lag in innovation rankings compared to their Western Europe counterparts. The existence of cultural barriers to innovation has been offered as an explanation for the lag, in the sense that perceptions about innovation affect innovation performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence-based analysis on whether there are divergent perceptions at the firm level between East and West.

The focus is on four countries with distinct socioeconomic profiles (Germany, Poland, Portugal and North Macedonia) for which innovation data of sufficient granularity exist. Using Probit analysis across the regressors of firm size, sector and innovativeness, a detailed picture of perceptions of innovation emerges naturally.

The analysis demonstrates that there is no discernible East-West cultural divide but rather a palette of shades regarding perceptions of innovation, entrenched in firm-level characteristics. Specifically, firm size colors perceptions of innovation and such perceptions in turn are moderated by whether a firm is involved or not in innovation activities.

A better understanding of innovation culture at the firm level is essential to drive policy interventions aiming to remove barriers to innovation. The results of this study provide sufficient clues for more refined interventions, both internal (“procedures”) and external (“policies”) to the firm, targeting well-defined size segments as well as addressing differently innovative and non-innovative companies.

The purpose of this study is to describe latent classes explaining the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies. Innovativeness is a driver of competitive performance and vital to the long-term success of any organisation and company.

Using finite mixture structural equation modelling (FMSEM), the authors have classified innovation logic into latent classes. The method analyses and recognises classes for companies that have similar logic in innovation activities based on the collected data.

Through FMSEM analysis, the authors have identified three latent classes that explain the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies – LC1: the internal innovators; LC2: the non-innovation-oriented introverts; and LC3: the innovation-oriented extroverts. These three latent classes clearly capture the perceptions within the industry as well as the different characteristics and variables.

The presented latent classes explain innovation logic but is limited to analysing Finnish companies. Also, the research is quantitative by nature and does not increase the understanding in the same manner as qualitative research might capture on more specific aspects.

This paper presents starting points for construction industry companies to intensify innovation activities. It may also indicate more fundamental changes for the structure of construction industry organisations, especially by enabling innovation friendly culture.

This study describes innovation logic in Finnish construction companies through three models (LC1–LC3) by using quantitative data analysed with the FMSEM method. The fundamental innovation challenges in the Finnish construction companies are clarified via the identified latent classes.

This study aims to determine barriers to innovation and to develop a quantitative model for the barrier to innovation in Vietnamese construction organizations of different sizes.

A literature review and discussions with experienced practitioners were implemented to determine barriers to innovation in construction organizations. The rank-based non-parametric test analyzed collected data from a questionnaire survey to examine if there were significant differences between the three groups of organizations, including small, medium and large construction organizations. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) technique was employed to develop barrier indexes (BIs) for organizations of different sizes in Vietnam.

The findings showed 17 barriers to innovation which were categorized into four groups, including organizational, human resources, economic and market barriers. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences regarding barriers to innovation between small, medium and large construction organizations in Vietnam. The post hoc test highlighted barriers to innovation differently separated into two groups: SMEs and large construction organizations. The FSE analysis integrated the identified barriers into the comprehensive BIs for SMEs and large construction organizations. The FSE analysis illustrated that the organizational barrier is the most critical barrier for SMEs. On the other hand, the market barrier received the most significant attention in large construction organizations.

This research is one of the first integrated barriers to innovation into a comprehensive formulation. The indexes provide the decision-makers with a practical and reliable tool to evaluate barriers to innovation in construction organizations of different sizes.

This paper aims to explore how the owners of less competitive micro-firms (MFs) perceive the “crisis–innovation–change management” triangle. It examines whether their understanding of these overarching entrepreneurship theory principles is inadequate compared to the relevant scientific literature.

This qualitative analysis follows principles based on the inductive method and grounded theory, thickly describing the results from research conducted in a sample of 38 tertiary-sector MFs in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region – one of the least developed and competitive areas across Europe. It triangulates the data with 11 respective small firms.

MF owners perceive the crisis as an ostensibly exogenous phenomenon, innovation as something quasi-unattainable – although vaguely significant – and change management as a relatively unknown process. This understanding lies somewhat distant from the extant literature that examines the structural nature of crises, the innovational power to exit profound restructurings and the rebalancing requisite for building new overall organizational methods to survive this internal–external transformation. In essence, the triangle crisis–innovation–change management is a blind spot for the examined MF owners as they ignore its significance as an adaptation mechanism – contrary to several direct competitors.

Based on the reluctance of these individuals to cultivate their systematic business knowledge, it seems unrealistic that they would seek to pay the necessary high price for business consulting in the future. An ideal solution would be to build public entrepreneurship clinics to provide these less dynamic and adaptable organizations with free preliminary or in-depth counseling. The Institute of Local Development-Innovation could aim to provide free consulting services to reinforce organizational physiology by coordinating different socioeconomic actors.

To the best of our knowledge, this empirical research is one of the first to test the comprehension of weaker MFs – less competitive and developed in organizational terms – to the triangle crisis–innovation–change management.

This study adopts the dynamic capabilities perspective to analyze environmental performance in family firms and explores the moderating effects that both family involvement in the Top Management Team (TMT) and long-term orientation (LTO) exert on the relationship between dynamic capabilities and environmental performance.

The authors test the hypotheses on a database of 748 family tourism firms, using hierarchical regression analysis.

The authors' results show that both variables have a beneficial effect on building the dynamic capabilities to be applied to improving environmental performance. However, the moderating effect of family involvement is revealed to be more complex than that of LTO. Having a high degree of family managerial involvement positively moderates the effect of dynamic capabilities on environmental performance but only in family firms with highly-developed dynamic capabilities; conversely, in family firms with lower levels of dynamic capabilities not having this family involvement in the TMT is better.

This study helps advance the research on Spanish family tourism firms by adopting an approach that unveils the heterogeneity in dynamic capabilities among said firms, driven by the firms' idiosyncratic features in terms of family involvement in the TMT and their LTO. The article also provides practical insights for family business owners, managers and advisors and outlines important directions for future research.

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) play a crucial role in the development of any country by generating innovative ideas. However, they face inherent restrictions that hinder their innovation capabilities. It is essential to support innovation policies to overcome these barriers and foster innovation. This study aims to explore how innovation policies can reduce barriers to innovation in MSEs using the lens of innovation capabilities.

Through a multiple case study, the authors examined eight MSEs in São Paulo (Brazil) and five in Florence (Italy) to conduct this study. These countries share a similar level of importance when it comes to MSEs.

Current innovation policies could be more effective for MSEs if certain barriers they encounter are faced and resolved, such as limited financial resources and a scarcity of qualified workers. These barriers directly affect two key elements of their innovation capability: financial resources and human resources. Therefore, it is essential to develop innovation policies that target these elements directly to enable MSEs to overcome these obstacles and thrive.

This study aims to enhance the knowledge of how innovation policies can help alleviate obstacles to innovation and how they can influence the various components that comprise the innovation capability of MSEs. This research can be valuable for policymakers as it provides insight into which innovation policies impact each aspect of innovation capability, enabling them to choose the most suitable policy based on the specific needs and local circumstances of the MSEs.

Access to finance and corruption are two major institutional obstacles hindering firm innovation in Africa whose implication on the fit between managerial characteristics and firm innovation has not been examined. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether firms may want to hire managers with a good fit when faced with institutional constraints and the authors suggest managerial level of education and experience within an industry could play a vital role in helping such firms innovate.

Secondary data was obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey on 17 African countries and a series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to achieve the aim of the research.

The findings show that while managers with primary and secondary education had a negative relationship with firm innovation (product and process), managers with a university degree had a positive relationship. This relationship was also confirmed when the authors’ split the full sample into two sub-samples (the firms that are institutionally constrained by access to finance and corruption) and therefore confirm the institutional implications of managers fit for firm’s innovation.

While research on the effect of management characteristics on firm innovation has focused more on large firms and mostly from developed economies testing both direct and mediation effects, little research exists as to whether the institutional obstacles faced by small firms could influence the type of managers required to drive their innovation.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of partially blocking the cathode channel with the stair arrangement of obstacles on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell.

A numerical study is conducted by developing a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model.

As the angle of the stair arrangement increases, the performance of the fuel cell is reduced and the pressure drop is decreased. The use of four stair obstacles with an angle of 0.17° leads to higher power density and a lower pressure drop compared to the case with three rectangular obstacles of the same size and maximum height. The use of four stair obstacles with an angle of 0.34° results in higher power density and lower pressure drop compared to the case with two rectangular obstacles of the same size and maximum height.

Using the stair arrangement of obstacles as an innovation of the present work, in addition to improving the fuel cell’s performance, creates a lower pressure drop than the simple arrangement of obstacles.

This research study explores the perceptions of the importance and meaning of innovation in education by qualified teachers. The authors deliberately selected geography teachers for the research because the extraordinary dynamics of changes and innovations the teacher has to deal with are significantly reflected, particularly in geography teaching.

The main aim of the research was to determine geography teachers' views on the importance, role and meaning of innovation in teaching. The research group consisted of 12 qualified teachers, and a semistructured interview was chosen as the research method. The research was conducted over six months, from October 2020 to March 2021.

This research confirmed the interest in introducing innovations into teaching by the teachers interviewed. Teachers mainly think of innovation as new ways of teaching that aim to revive and make teaching more attractive, to increase the motivation of all actors in the learning process. While teachers with more ample teaching experience connect innovations mainly with presentations, education games, and excursions, teachers-beginners and teachers with shorter teaching experience understand innovations mainly as the application of new trends in education, such as research projects and working with GIS and digital technologies. The research confirmed that lectures supported by presentations are the most frequently used teaching method for explaining the geography curriculum in primary and secondary schools. Presentations in which teachers focus on linking relationships and explaining connections more deeply replace existing textbooks and teaching texts for most teachers interviewed.

The number and qualifications of the teachers involved in the research.

Teachers see the quality of the school environment and the education system as the significant barriers to providing better geography education. They often come to innovations through their own study and activities and feel a significant lack of available materials for the practical application of innovations in teaching. They also perceive the support for creation by state authorities and educational institutions as insufficient. Most teachers interviewed would welcome regular training courses and vocational education on the appropriate introduction and use of innovations in the classrooms in the form of practical examples and developed methodologies.

The selection of teachers for the research was deliberate and included active teachers of both genders working in primary and secondary schools. The selected teachers had varying teaching experiences and studied different combinations of teaching subjects with geography.

The study identifies the gap in the understanding of how employee resistance to change (RTC) could impact different stages of the process of innovation. To address this research gap, the paper introduces a new model, which theorizes three moderating effects of RTC on the different elements of absorptive capacity (ACAP).

This study empirically tests the proposed model, using survey data collected from healthcare organizations in the United States of America.

First, the study reveals that RTC could damage the critical “connectedness” between potential absorptive capacity (PACAP) and realized absorptive capacity (RACAP), thus limiting the organization's ability to exploit new knowledge. Second, the findings also reveal that RTC can reduce the positive effect of acquisition (ACQ) on assimilation – the function responsible for decoding the meaning and for assimilating new valuable information incoming from the market.

Research limitations of this study are discussed further.

The paper presents specific practical implications for managers.

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This paper advances past research and practice by revealing two new mechanisms. When employees resist new changes initiated in the organizations, the resistance of employees will hinder the process of innovation in the following ways. (1) At the beginning of the process, employees can oppose and reject new valuable ideas incoming from the market. (2) At the stage of the implementation, such employees can engage in behavior that will weaken the organization's ability to successfully implement new process improvements that could otherwise increase organizational effectiveness.