Innovation in Australian Workplaces: An Empirical Analysis Using AWIRS 1990 and 1995

Melbourne Institute Working Paper No. 03/99

Date: February 1999

Author(s):

Mark Rogers

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of innovation in a panel of 698 Australian workplaces. Innovation activity is proxied by four types of workplace change. Data on these workplace changes comes from the 1990 and 1995 AWIRS. Workplaces are allocated into one of three innovation groups - dynamic, periodic or infrequent - depending on whether they (a) reported the change in both the 1990 and 1995 surveys, (b) reported the change in only one year, or (c) never reported the change. Various workplace characteristics and environmental factors are investigated using both cross tabulations and an ordered probit model. The results suggest that better employee-management communications are associated with more change, and that workplaces with higher levels of training undergo more change.

Download Paper