Organisational characteristics of innovativeness revisited: an evaluation framework proposal with a comparative multiple case study on leading Turkish manufacturers

This paper explores the organisational characteristics facilitating innovativeness and proposes an organisational evaluation framework by a thematic content analysis of literature. This framework is applied and validated by multiple comparative case studies on Turkey's six major export leader manufacturing companies. The study utilises the qualitative information obtained from open-to-public documents about the selected companies. The key concepts that can be utilised as measures for assessing the organisational dimensions of innovativeness are also discussed. Comparative analysis of cases revealed some common organisational characteristics in all selected companies, such as strategic orientation towards innovation, organisational heritage, innovation experience, commitment to technology, use of technology transfer, R&D management, external links, openness, and financial resource management. The study also concluded that some dimensions such as space for creativity, cross-functional cooperation, or risk acceptance varies by organisational and industrial context.