Innovation

Journal of Business Research 63 (2010) 1179–1185

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Journal of Business Research

Timing is everything: A meta-analysis of the relationships between organizational performance and innovation

Frances E. Bowen a,⁎, Mahdi Rostami b, Piers Steel c

a b c

University of Calgary, Haskayne School of Business, 2500 University Dr NW Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4 Petroleum University of Technology, Energy Management and Economics Department, Sattar Khan Avenue, Tehran, Iran University of Calgary, University of Calgary, Haskayne School of Business, 2500 University Dr NW Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t

The relationship between innovation and firm performance has been uncertain. In previous empirical tests of both causal directions of the organizational performance and innovation relationship, the temporal sequence of research designs has often been flawed. We meta-analytically test both temporal sequences of this relationship using 158 effect sizes from 55 empirical studies. We find that many empirical studies hypothesized one temporal sequence (e.g. innovation and future performance), but used data based on the opposite temporal sequence (e.g. past performance and innovation). Correcting the studies based on the actual temporal sequence used reveals that while the relationship between innovation and future performance is positive (based on economic rentseeking), the relationship between past performance and innovation is less clear, especially when the study's framing is taken into account. Focusing on temporal sequencing suggests new research avenues on the organizational performance and innovation relationship. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 6 July 2007 Accepted 28 August 2009 Keywords: Innovation Meta-analysis Performance Temporal sequence

1. Introduction Does innovation today spur superior performance tomorrow? Is innovation driven by past...