The Role of Innovation Management in Achieving Institutional Excellence (A Field Study of Employees at the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

This study investigates the role of innovation management in achieving institutional excellence at the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in light of accelerating global changes and increasing complexity in business environments. Innovation management has emerged as a strategic imperative for organizations aiming to enhance performance and achieve sustainable excellence. A quantitative research approach was adopted, using a structured questionnaire distributed to a random sample of employees within the ministry. A total of 99 valid responses were collected. The study focused on four main dimensions of innovation management: senior leadership’s commitment and ongoing support, fostering a culture of innovation, the availability of financial, human, and technological resources, and the use of appropriate tools and techniques to develop and evaluate innovations. The impact of these dimensions was assessed on two pillars of institutional excellence: leadership excellence and service delivery excellence. The findings demonstrated a statistically significant impact of all innovation management dimensions on institutional excellence. Results showed high levels of leadership support, open idea-sharing, a dedicated innovation team, and structured evaluation tools. However, the study noted room for improvement in the incentive and recognition systems for innovation. Moreover, no statistically significant differences were found related to personal or demographic variables such as gender, age, qualification, or job title. The study recommends strengthening all innovation dimensions, with particular emphasis on developing strategic leadership policies, allocating sustainable resources, fostering a fair and open innovation culture, and adopting inclusive innovation frameworks that ensure equitable participation across the organization.