Innovation under Dynamic Institutional Change: How Firms Can Capture Innovation Opportunities under Institutional Uncertainty

Noman Shaheer, Jingtao Yi and Jinqiu He

Management and Organization Review, 2026, vol. 22, issue 2, 357-379

Abstract: This study adopts a temporal lens to integrate opportunity logic with institutional theory, examining how varying and unpredictably evolving institutions across countries shape firm innovation. Focusing on nascent industries – where institutional environments are not only diverse but also characterized by irregular and rapid change over time – we theorize a U-shaped relationship between institutional uncertainty and digital product innovation. We further explore how design iteration, as a form of temporally distributed adaptive action, enables firms to navigate uncertainty and capture innovation opportunities in dynamic institutional contexts. Drawing on a sample of 4,619 firms from 50 countries in the global mobile app industry, our empirical findings support these propositions. This research advances a dynamic, time-sensitive perspective on institutions and innovation, offering key insights for emerging markets, like China, where firms operate amid rapid and unpredictable institutional transitions.

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/ ... type/journal_article link to article abstract page (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:maorev:v:22:y:2026:i:2:p:357-379_7

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Management and Organization Review from Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press, UPH, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Kirk Stebbing ().