An Empirical Study of Organizational Innovation Practice in Electronic and Electrical Industry in the Greater Pearl River Delta (GPRD)

Innovation fuels organizations evolving them to withstand rapid changes in markets and challenges from competition. While diversified concepts of innovation are examined, a generic framework for managing organizational innovation is established to portray the notion in a methodical approach. Substatiation of the determinants for organizational innovation is carried out in order to examine the framework against the practical situation. Subsequently, expectations and actual accomplishments of the determinants for organizational innovation from the industry are determined so as to understand the industrial view towards the framework. This paper summarizes the empirical findings of a survey of organizational innovation with a sample of 208 electronic and electrical manufacturing companies in the Greater Pearl River Delta (GPRD), China. On one hand, the survey findings confirm the readiness of the generic framework from the practical perspective of the industry. On the other hand, rankings are obtained for the expected importance and company accomplishment of the determinants for organizational innovation, namely in the areas of management leadership and commitment, employee capability and attitude and strategy development for innovation. The improvement area is also verified by the shortcomings of the expectation in comparison to the company accomplishment in each dterminant. Meanwhile, it is believed that a directional attitude towards the determinants can facilitate the accomplishment of the determinants of organizational innovation. Further results will be generated from a more in‐depth analysis of variables. The confirmed framework will be further developed into an assessment system for organizational innovation with the support of best practices in each determinant.