The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 14: 265–281, 2011
Copyright © The Society of Psychologists in Management
ISSN: 1088-7156 print / 1550-3461 online
DOI: 10.1080/10887156.2011.621780
An Empirical Test of an Innovation
Implementation Model
Pedro I. Leiva
University of Chile
Satoris S. Culbertson
Kansas State University
Robert D. Pritchard
University of Central Florida
Although innovation implementation success has become a survival issue for orga-
nizations given today’s turbulent economic environment, it remains unclear which
variables make the implementation of an innovation successful. The authors tested
a model for innovation implementation that highlights the role of attitudes toward
change. They proposed manager and supervisor expectations and supervisor sup-
port, as well as personnel value-fit with the project and personnel expectations, as
critical antecedents for innovation implementation success. On the basis of data
from 65 innovation projects, the authors found that congruence between manager
and supervisor expectations and supervisor support significantly predicted inno-
vation implementation success. Even though there was a significant relationship
between the perceived value-fit employees had with the innovation purpose and the
subsequent expectations they had for the innovation when the project started, neither
of these variables significantly predicted the success of the implementation.
In today’s turbulent economy, innovation has become a critical factor for organi-
zational survival. Organizations need to be reactive in fulfilling their customers’
changing demands and proactive in implementing changes to become more
A version of this article was presented at the 19th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial
and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, in April 2004.
Correspondence should be sent to Pedro I. Leiva, School of Business, University of Chile,
Diagonal Paraguay 257 of 1202A, Santiago, Chile. E-mail: pleivan@unegocios.cl