Many organizational and environmental factors influence a firm's commitment
to innovation. Among the organizational factors, the perceptual lens of th
e top management team and the team's dynamics are posited to have a signifi
cant direct impact on the firm's commitment to innovation. This study revis
its the classic arguments of Hayes and Abernathy and empirically examines s
everal of their propositions. The results clearly indicate a positive relat
ionship between the technical orientation of the TMT/CEO and above-average
R&D intensity. This effect remains even after controlling for the impact of
performance in prior periods and firm diversification. Overall, these resu
lts suggest that establishing a high level of commitment to innovation will
be promoted or impeded in many organizations because of the predisposition
s of the CEO and top management team.