Communication, involvement, and perceived innovativeness - Tests of a model with two contrasting innovations

Increasingly, how well organizations innovate is becoming the single most i mportant issue in determining their ultimate success. Two separate samples focusing on different innovations, one community based (n = 80) and the oth er technical (n = 116), were drawn from the same organization to test a mod el of the effects of communication and involvement on perceived innovativen ess. In general, the revised model, which was developed in the technical in novation test and confirmed in the community-based innovation test, provide d an excellent fit to the data. The results clearly indicated that communic ation variables have both direct and indirect effects on perceived innovati veness, although the pattern of individual paths appears to be contingent o n the type of innovation. The results suggested that contrary to recent tre nds in the literature. mediated channels can play a critical role in implem enting management-initiated innovations.