Does national culture affect firms' technological innovation? A cross-country analysis

Purpose - Our paper aims at investigating how country culture affects firms' innovative performance. While many contributions are given on the effect of national culture on countries' innovation, the effects of culture on firms' innovation performances has not been explored so far. Our study aims at filling this gap, by investigating how culture affects both firms' innovation capability and innovation rapidity. Design/methodology/approach - The research employs a quantitative methodology based on non parametric correlations analysis between Hofstede's cultural dimensions and firm's innovative performances. We focus on technological innovation, and limit the analysis to the five Hofstede's dimensions, which are usually employed in similar studies, that is: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and long-term orientation. We measure the correlation between each dimension, and three main indicators of firms' innovation performances: the number of international patents (absolute, and relative), the distribution of patent, and the patents' growth ratio, so to consider both firms' innovation capability, and rapidity. Originality/value - Our paper gives an original contribution to the entrepreneurial culture approach. Most of the studies focus on the impact of national culture on innovative performance at a country level, and consider how cultural dimensions impact on national innovation, usually measured as the amount of national patents or as the R&D expenses per capita. Our paper focuses instead on firms, and investigates how cultural dimensions impact on firms' innovation performances, and more specifically on firms' capability to innovate, and on the rapidity of the innovation process. Practical implications - By evaluating how cultural dimensions impact on innovation, managers may decide in which countries to relocate their R & D activities or with which companies to cooperate to innovate. Policy makers can understand which cultural dimensions affect innovation in order to define their policy, and leverage the values, which have a positive impact on local firms' attitude towards innovation, and on their inclination to protect their innovations.