How negative aspiration performance gaps affect innovation efficiency

Abstract

By taking insights from the behavioral theory, this study analyzes how performing below aspiration levels influences innovation efficiency. Furthermore, this research analyzes whether firms respond differently to performance pressures depending on certain factors at the organizational level, such as financial slack and family management. Conducting a panel data analysis on 3116 observations of Spanish manufacturing firms over the 2001–2013 period, we find that performing below aspiration levels improves the firm’s conversion rate of innovation efficiency in both the short and the long term. Furthermore, this study confirms that two contingencies, namely the levels of financial slack and family management, are quite relevant towards gaining a full understanding of the complex nuances associated with the investigated core relationship.