The impact of creative organizational climate on the innovation activity of medical devices manufacturing firms in Hungary

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the impact of creative organizational climate on the innovation
\nactivity of medical devices manufacturing firms in Hungary. We applied a combined qualitative and quantitative research
\nmodel, focusing on two firm’s case studies that are active in the above mentioned sector and differ to a substantial degree in
\ntheir innovation activities. The connection between innovative climate and innovation was analyzed by comparing their
\norganizational climate and perceptions of organizational members of innovation activities. Our findings revealed that
\nclassical models of creative organizational climate explain only partially the differences, although on the level of individual
\nperceptions of climate and innovativeness we can find some connections.
\nWe found one factor that differentiated the two firms in terms of organizational climate in the predicted direction: the amount, quality, sincerity and depth of debates going on in the organization. The level of challenge (high involvement, commitment and challenging goals) and the time devoted to think about new ideas and innovative solutions (idea time) turned out to be contrary to the expectations based on previous research – although these results are less significant statistically. The results trigger further research into the sources of competitiveness in the Hungarian medical devices manufacturing sector.