Innovationen, Wachstumsabsicht und Umsatzwachstum neuer Unternehmen

Abstract: Although current literature informs that both growth intention and innovative strategies determine venture growth, we remain with an important, yet unresolved theoretical and empirical question: is innovation the reason for growth, is intention the reason for growth or is growth the reason for innovation and changing growth intention? To untangle this question, about the gaps between cause(s) and effect(s) we undertake a data analysis on a final sample size of 20,472 young firms. We tested three types of innovation types: product, process and organizational innovation; and measured growth through sales revenue growth. Our results show that product innovation and organizational innovation affect sales revenues growth, while process innovation does not. Further, our results show that each type of innovation influences growth intention, and mediating effects of innovation occur.