Innovation culture and the economic performance of Tunisian ICT firms

Innovative culture can enhance high-tech firms’ performance, but context may influence the culture and ensuing innovation practices. We surveyed innovation culture in 92 Tunisian small ICT companies. Our multinomial logit regression found that although some innovation culture values were positively related to performance, others appeared counterproductive. We conclude that an innovative culture positively influences performance but that local conditions prevail. Successful companies favoured managing and controlling employees rather than creating a supportive and enabling environment. Indeed, the imperatives of competition mean that management practices were centred on cost containment.