Title: Factors influencing organisational innovation in wind farms

Authors: Vinodh K. Natarajan; J. Cyril Kanmony

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Narayanaguru College of Engineering, Anna University Chennai, Chittadavu Estate, Manjalumoodu P.O, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, Pincode: 629151, India ' Department of Economics, Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari Dist, Tamil Nadu, Pincode: 629003, India

Abstract: Innovation in the wind energy sector is dominated by R&D investments in wind turbine industry. The focus on product innovation is high owing to the huge setup cost involved in setting up a wind turbine. However, not much work is found among literature on innovation adopted by wind firms that own these wind turbines. This study proposes a framework for analysing innovations adopted by wind firms by constructing an organisational innovation measurement model. The study examines the effects of various factors on two types of innovation, administrative and technical, in the selected sample of wind firms. The results indicate that factors that are favourable to administrative innovations differ from those that are conducive to technological innovation. Three variables are significant predictors of administrative innovation: organisational characteristic innovation and strategic innovation. Process innovation contributes significantly to the model of technical innovation. Moreover, the results of the study show that more importance is given to technical innovation than administrative innovation in wind farms.

Keywords: administrative innovation; organisational innovation; wind farms; technical innovation; wind energy; wind power; wind turbines; wind firms; strategic innovation; process innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2015.071502

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2015 Vol.18 No.3, pp.361 - 379

Received: 25 Sep 2013
Accepted: 30 Jan 2014

Published online: 31 Aug 2015 *

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