The Culture of Innovation in Women-Led Companies

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the elements of the culture of innovation in womenled companies in the state of Durango, Mexico. A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, and non-experimental study was conducted. A convenience sample of 37 companies was selected, characterized as non-probabilistical and non-randomized, which allowed the sample to be constructed based on the accessibility and availability of the companies. The innovative culture was studied based on the analysis of four factors: 1) Intention to Innovate, 2) Infrastructure of the Innovation, 3) Influence of the Innovation and 4) Implementation of the Innovation. These factors encompass a total of seven dimensions that are structured into a total of 70 questions. The collected data was organized and entered into a database created in SPSS 25.0 software for statistical analysis. Tests of reliability, normality and validity of the data such as the Cronbach’s Alpha test, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the Kruskal-Wallis analysis were applied. The main findings indicate that the most frequent factors are 1) Intention to Innovate, in the Organizational Constitution dimension and 2) Infrastructure of the Innovation, in the Organizational Learning dimension. On the other hand, the dimension with the least frequency was Propensity to Innovate, included within the Intention to Innovate factor. This suggests that the analyzed organizations prioritize the standardization of procedures and work methods over actions aimed at innovation. Since a culture of innovation requires the ability and actions to create or improve products and services, the women entrepreneurs surveyed had a lower propensity to innovate. This suggests they prioritize standardization of procedures and work practices over encouraging flexibility and openness to new ideas and human capital.