Antecedents of management innovation – a case of companies from Western Balkan countries

Abstract

The focus of the study is to test the relationship between some key internal antecedents and management inno-vation, in companies from Western Balkan Countries. In this study management innovation is conceptualized as the introduction of new management and organizational practices that are new to the company. Using a large data sample, from Business Environment Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS) and through binary logis-tic regression, a positive relationship was confirmed between three internal antecedents and management inno-vation. Findings indicate that giving time to employees to try a new approach or new ideas, providing training to employees and the size of the company, are positively related to management innovation. Surprisingly and conversely to results of some previous studies, the relationship between the level of education of the workforce and management innovation was not confirmed. Also, the expected inverse relationship between the inadequate level of education as an obstacle in company work and the level of adoption of management innovation was not confirmed. Findings from this research study can help management practitioners, scholars and policy-makers, to better understand key drivers of management innovation in transition economies from the Western Balkan Region.