The Effects of Organizational Structure and Culture on Innovation: A Comparative Study of the Central Organizations of the Islamic Azad University, Payame Noor University, the University of Applied Science and Technology, and the University of Tehran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tehran

2 University of Tehran

Abstract

Nowadays, innovation is regarded as one of the main merits for the liveliness of educational organizations, especially universities. This study aims to examine the differences between various universities of Iran in terms of organizational innovation and the impact of structure and culture. To do so, Iran's universities are categorized into four main groups: Islamic Azad University, Payame Noor University (PNU), the University of Applied Science and Technology (UAST), and public universities. The statistical population of the study is comprised of managers and employees of the central organization of these universities. The conceptual model and research hypotheses are developed based on the related literature. Data collection, and hypotheses and model testing are done through questionnaire tool and structural equation model. In the UAST, a meaningful relationship is revealed between innovation-culture and innovation-structure; in the University of Tehran, there is a positive and meaningful relationship between culture and innovation; and In the Islamic Azad University, a meaningful relationship exist only between culture and innovation. By structural equations modeling, the impacts of latent variables (structure) on endogenous latent variables (culture and innovation) are examined, and the results show that the structure does not affect innovation in central organization of these universities directly. But the meaningful impact of structure on culture and very meaningful impact of culture on organizational innovation lead to the conclusion that organizational structure can be influential via affecting the culture.

Keywords

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  • Receive Date: 14 February 2015
  • Accept Date: 13 October 2015

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