On the Interplay of the Dynamic Capabilities and Innovation with the moderating Role of Slack Resources

Abstract

This article explains the relationship between the organization's dynamic capabilities, the level of organizational slack, and the innovativeness of the enterprise. Using empirical data from 422 Polish organizations collected in 2021; quantitative analyses were carried out on the relationships between dynamic capabilities, the level of organizational slack, and the company's innovativeness. Among others, correlation analyses, factor analyses, regression analyses, variance inflation factors, structural equation modeling, and moderation analyses were used. It was found that the ability to perceive, use and reconfigure resources is an essential factor determining the enterprise's innovativeness level. On the other hand, organizational slack is vital in moderating the relationship between resource reconfiguration and innovation. With a low level of organizational slack, the ability to reconfigure resources translates into an increase in the company's innovativeness. The article discusses the relationship between dynamic abilities and innovation in the context of organizational slack. According to the authors' knowledge, this is the first approach of this type in the national literature and one of the first in the international state of knowledge. Thus, it enriches the organization's knowledge of innovation issues, clearly pointing to its determinants.