INNOVATION MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS AND A CROSS-SECTORAL EMPIRICAL STUDY

In rapidly changing and developing world, the importance given for the concept of innovation appeared as an inevitable factor for the firms to obtain sustainable competitive advantage started to increase and has become an issue of a particular concern in agenda of company executives. The concept of innovation appears as a factor that should be discussed as a whole and on which many ideas have been put forward and interpretations have been made. The basic purpose of this study was to discuss the innovation as management emphasizing the importance of innovation in term of businesses. In the study, it is tried to specify whether the companies analyzed in the sample scale determined in Istanbul province had interests related to actualizing innovation and management applications or not. By the help of the hypothesis established in accordance with the purpose of the research, reliability and validity were tested using correlation and regression analysis with SPSS 17 software. Consequently, it was revealed that it is compulsory for entities to adapt and practice innovative and management approaches in order for them to achieve successful results at this process when innovation has become such necessary and important. In particular, innovation directly affects the firm’s financial and growth performance in various ways.