Innovation and operative real options as ways to affect organisational learning

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of the innovation process on organisational learning. To achieve this goal, we decompose innovation into two components, innovativeness and the capacity to innovate. This paper proposes theoretically the concept of Operative Real Options (OROs) and empirically seeks to measure their influence on the relationship between innovation and organisational learning. Using empirical data gathered from 204 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in European firms, the findings support the hypothesis that innovation and its two components improve the learning process in the organisation. However, we do not find support for the hypothesis that OROs moderate the relation between innovation and learning.