Three‐dimension decision model of introduced management innovation

Purpose – This paper aims to address why some managers in China pursue innovative opportunities by introducing new management practices while others do not and what characteristics of managers affect their decision of introducing new practices and how. Design/methodology/approach – Three major activities of managers referring to innovation intention, knowledge acquirement, and risk perception are extracted, a three‐dimension decision figure is established by further combining relevant literature with decision practices. Data on 237 managers from different firms were collected to further examine the model by adopting structural equation modeling, with the purpose of showing affecting paths and internal mechanisms of complex decision making. Findings – The results indicate that: innovation intention, knowledge acquirement, and risk perception directly affect management innovation decision levels; innovation intention, knowledge acquirement, and risk perception are influenced by entrepreneurial orientation, social networking, and cognitive biases of managers, respectively; besides, the three relevantly independent affecting paths, interrelations also exist across paths; and the three main factors produce both direct and indirect effects, simultaneously. Research limitations/implications – The research does not investigate other variables that may affect innovation decision, such as contextual elements like competitive intensity, internal elements like organizational structure and culture, and top management teams. Originality/value – The findings form a basis for further research into how to explore the black box of complex‐decision processes in the specific context of China and holds important implications for management practices.