An analysis of the two-way relationships between management practices and firm innovation
The purpose of this special issue is to provide insights into the application of the concept of innovation as a driver of productivity which is widely discussed in the literature (Dani et al., 2022; Novillo-Villegas et al., 2022; Wei et al., 2025). However, due to the absence of high-quality data, the role of management practices has remained empirically unexplored for a long time such as the practices used in operations, monitoring procedures targets, and incentives (Patyal & Koilakuntla, 2017; Bloom et al., 2012; Ahire & Dreyfus, 2000).
The special issue contributes to the literature in three important dimensions, starting with management practices as a driver of productivity. Operational processes, performance monitoring, target setting, and incentive systems fall under this category. In this issue, we examine how these practices affect firm productivity and innovation. Secondly, the role of innovation in firm performance. R&D investment, R&D intensity, patents, and intangible assets are considered as mechanisms of innovation here. Innovation contributes to productivity at different levels of economic development, especially. Thirdly, financial constraints and their impact on innovation. Our focus here is on how financial leverage and access to capital affect a firm’s ability to invest in R&D and innovation, especially when they do not have any collateral.
List of topic areas
This special issue should examine the relationship between management practices and firm innovation using various theories. Possible topics that merit exploration include the following, but are not exclusive:
- What effect do specific management practices (e.g., target setting, performance monitoring, incentive systems) have on a firm’s ability to innovate and its overall productivity?
- Does innovation activity (e.g., R&D investment, patenting, and the development of intangible assets) mediate the relationship between management practices and firm performance?
- Do financial constraints have a disproportionate impact on innovation performance among high R&D intensity firms, and how does the availability (or unavailability) of tangible assets influence investor decisions?
- How do the impact of management practices and innovation on firm productivity vary across countries at various stages of economic development (e.g., least developed and advanced economies)?
- What are the theoretical paradigms offering the best, most overall descriptions of management quality-innovation strategy firm productivity interaction and how might such paradigms be analysed empirically via available data?
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.
Key deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 01/09/2025
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30/11/2025
Guest editors
Dr Nirma Jayawardena, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. nirmasadamali@gmail.com
Dr Nuttawuth Muenjohn, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. N.muenjohn@bradford.ac.uk
Professor Richard Nyuur, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. R.b.nyuur@bradford.ac.uk
