An empirical investigation of innovation process in Indian pharmaceutical companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework exploring innovation process in research and development units of organizations. Research and development (R&D) teams of pharmaceutical firms operating in India were the unit of analysis. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from 352 leaders and equal number of team members working in R&D teams. Responses were collected through questionnaire survey method. Questions to measure variables of members’ proactive personality, emotional intelligence, trust, task reflexivity, team creativity and innovation adoption were answered by team leaders. Similarly, questions on variables, resonant leadership style of team leaders, team information sharing process and climate for innovation were answered by team members. Out of 450 distributed questionnaires, 352 completely filled responses were finally obtained, with a response rate of 78 percent. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling using AMOS 21.0 software package. Findings - Findings of the study reveal that members’ proactive personality, emotional intelligence and trust enhance members’ learning ability called task reflexivity. This learning is further promulgated with the intervention of team information sharing process and support for innovation. Team creativity enhances innovation implementation in organizations. However, resonant leadership style of team leaders does not support task reflexivity. Practical implications - Overall, the study highlights that creativity is promulgated when information is disseminated among members in a supportive climate for innovation. Organizations can create and innovate by developing capability of members who are proactive, emotionally intelligent and who trust their colleagues, so that team members can rationally judge organizational priorities, learn from their colleagues, plan and execute novice ideas to serve market needs. Originality/value - R&D team enhances creativity and innovation in organizations by leveraging their talent and skills. This work is an attempt to develop an innovation process model in Indian pharmaceutical organizations to promulgate creativity and innovation through R&D teams.