Internal Antecedents of Management Innovation: The Effect of Diagnostic Capability and Implementation Capability

Management innovation is the introduction of new management practices that significantly alter the way the work of management is performed. Building on behavioral theory of the firm, this paper explores the effect of firms’ diagnostic capability and implementation capability on the likelihood of adopting new‐to‐thefirm and new‐to‐the‐industry management innovations. The paper finds that formalized activities directed at developing and implementing management innovations as well as CEO novelty increases the likelihood of innovating in both categories. Also, top management team (TMT) diversity increases the likelihood of adopting new‐to‐the‐industry innovations. The paper does not find a direct effect of performance decline on the likelihood of implementing management innovation, but two variables, TMT diversity and previous experience, positively moderate the relationship between performance decline and new‐to‐the‐industry management innovation.