A predictive model of innovation and internationalization : an empirical study of U.S. construction firms

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptual process of top managers of U.S. construction firms and to examine its relationship with organizational commitment to innovation and internationalization. Top managers' transformational leadership characteristics, organizational size, and organizational history on organizational commitment to innovation and internationalization were also examined. The study also examined the factors predicting the level of internationalization of U.S. construction firms. This study was an attempt to bridge the boundaries of traditional organizational research through a convergence of micro and macro OB approaches. The hypothesized relationships were tested using a sample of U.S. construction firms listed on the ENR's 1989-1990 Directory of Contractors. The findings of multiple regression analysis reported the significant relationships among top managers' perceived changes in environmental uncertainty, organizational strategy, transformational leadership characteristics, organizational history, and organizational commitment to innovation. The findings of multiple regression analysis also reported the significant relationship between organizational commitment to innovation and organizational commitment to internationalization. In contrast, the findings of logistic regression analysis reported top managers' perceived changes in organizational strategy, organizational size, and organizational commitment to innovation as significant predictors of the level of internationalization. Finally, the issues of "creating organizational capacity for innovation" and "being an internationalist" have been the foci of inquiry for many organizational researchers. In spite of its huge size and significant impact on the U.S. economy (1.2 million firms, 5.5 million employees, and 9% of the GNP), however, the U.S. construction industry has been neglected in their research. Thus, part of this study's significance is in its examination of organizational commitment to innovation and internationalization in the U.S. construction industry.