Correlation organizational culture vs. innovation of small enterprises in Poland

Abstract

Innovation of businesses depends on numerous factors. Organizational culture is one of them. It encompasses a system of values which may facilitate or inhibit the development of innovations in the organization. The current paper discusses researcher results pertaining to organizational culture of small enterprises and the relationship between their organizational culture and selected aspects of their innovation. The study aimed to determine cultural values characteristic for small enterprises in order to identify the ones facilitating innovation. In addition, the study was to serve as a basis for conclusions on the relationship between the studied issues. The study encompassed 110 small enterprises which conduct innovative activities. In order to diagnose the organizational culture, a survey questionnaire was applied. Relations were determined by means of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Research results indicate that the culture of small innovative businesses is characterized by people-focus, focus on the surrounding environment, status based on achievements, individualism, low communicative context, low tolerance of insecurity, proactivity, and distance of authority. With the exception of low tolerance of insecurity, the majority of these features may be perceived as facilitating innovation. There exist numerous relations of weak and low intensity among the cultural features identified as innovative and innovation of small enterprises. Few aspects of innovation correlate with a considerable number of cultural values. Status based on authority manifests the strongest relationship. However, the relationship may be defined as significant but small.