The propensity to innovate in a company: From theoretical models to case studies to simulation

The purpose of this paper is to delineate a set of useful variables able to show the level of propensity to innovate in a company. In order to evaluate innovation, the authors have built a model in which different variables that can help management to measure the level of innovation in their company are taken into consideration. The created model is based both on theories about innovation and on the authors' expertise. A questionnaire was put together by the authors with the aim of understanding the strength of the model and measures the level of innovation present in the company. The questionnaire was sent to 100 companies belonging to different Piedmont industries. © 2009 IEEE.