Antecedents and performance impacts of product versus process innovation

Purpose The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between seven antecedent factors (R&D strategy, top management support (TMS), customer focus (CF), organizational learning capability (OLC), creative capability (CC), organizational collaboration (OC), and supplier relationship (SR)), two innovation types (product and process), and firm performance (FP). Design/methodology/approach The paper formulates 16 hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling with data collected from 270 managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) located in Turkish science and technology parks (STPs). Findings The findings indicate that both of product and process innovation have a strong and positive association with FP. While antecedents such as R&D strategy, TMS, CF, CC, and SR have significant impact on product innovation, other antecedents such as OLC and OC have a significant and positive impact on process innovation. Practical implications The results of this study could be used by any managers of SMEs located in STPs to improve successful innovation projects. The results also provide companies operating in Turkish STPs with useful information on how their policies and actions might affect firm innovation. Originality/value The paper provides a clarification of the reasons that may be behind a positive, a negative, or a non‐significant effect of the many antecedents on the product and process in SMEs located in Turkish STPs.