Does marketing orientation impact the innovation activity of R&D departments influenced by user-driven innovation? The correspondence analysis

Purpose There are many studies explaining the innovation activity determinants. Nowadays, the digitalization of sales, the influence of social media, user-driven innovation (UDI) activity might be considered as one of the crucial sources for the development of new products within the research and development activity. Undertaken research is therefore aimed at determining whether the marketing orientation, i.e. the purchasing behavior of customers, affects the innovation activity of R&D departments that work under the usage of UDI concept. Design/methodology/approach 57 R&D departments operating in Poland participated in the study. Correspondence analysis based on the Burt matrix and Cramer's V correlation coefficients was used for the analysis. Findings The analysis shows that R&D departments in Poland using marketing research and examining consumer purchasing behavior, positively assess the effects of using the UDI concept in R&D departments. They implement it to create or improve products or services offered on the market, especially in the field of customization, while using information from national research and development units in Poland. The motivation for these activities is mainly to increase the assortment level. Research limitations/implications The conducted study covers only R&D departments in Poland, thus it is worth extending the generalization of the results. In terms of future research directions, it's worth to analyze the data from R&D departments in other countries. The results of such studies could be used for comparative analyses. The main limitation of the research is that the research sample was 57 R&D departments of enterprises operating in Poland. Therefore, the research results can't be generalized to all the R&D departments in Poland. Practical implications The findings could help researchers and practitioners improve their understanding of the determinants of innovation activity, especially its relationship to marketing orientation and UDI practices. Originality/value The research regarding marketing orientation of enterprises and its influence on innovation activity is extremely important due to the general change of the conditions for the functioning of enterprises and building their competitive advantage. Knowledge in this area is still insufficient and research gaps are still being exposed. The article presents the correlation between the marketing orientation and customer behavior within the UDI activity and effects of innovation activity of R&D departments being under investigation.