Creating organizational environments that stimulate innovation: An explanatory model

This article aimed to identify qualitatively and quantitatively the main ways the organizational environment can stimulate innovation in a multinational pharmaceutical industry in Brazil. To this end, we established two specific objectives: to raise the perception of leaders and subordinates regarding the strategies to encourage innovation adopted by the organization and to develop and statistically validate a structural model that explains the capacity of the organizational environment to stimulate innovation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 leaders, including Corporate Vice-President, Quality Vice-President, directors, and managers, and applied questionnaires to 334 subordinates, including supervisors, specialists, analysts, and technicians. The investigation pointed out that Strategic Leadership is a second-order construct that comprises Motivation and Leadership. The Firm’s Strategy positively impacts Strategic Leadership, and Strategic Leadership positively impacts the Challenge to Innovate. The proposed explanatory model can explain approximately 60% of the Challenge to Innovate in the organization. We expect that the findings of this research will contribute to the advancement of knowledge regarding organizational innovation, especially concerning its antecedents, allowing theoretical reflections and practical and managerial benefits in the search for effective innovative strategies.