Public defence in International Business, MSc Yian Chen
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Title of the thesis: Unpacking the Impact of Culture on Innovation: A Cross-cultural Study in China and the Nordics
Doctoral student: Yian Chen
Opponent: Professor Keld Laursen, Copenhagen Business School
Custos (Chairperson): Assistant Professor Iiris Saittakari, Aalto University School of Business
Culture is often treated as a background condition in international business, yet this doctoral thesis shows that it can play a decisive role in shaping how firms pursue innovation across borders. The research examines firm innovation across the People’s Republic of China and the Nordic countries, with the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden serving as the principal Nordic contexts. The purpose is to explain why innovation practices that appear effective in one cultural and institutional setting may not function in the same way elsewhere.
This doctoral thesis is based on two survey-based studies of 356 firms and one qualitative interview study with 42 managers. It investigates product innovation and management innovation by examining risk-taking culture, organisational resilience, decentralisation, formalisation, knowledge sharing, and leadership practices. The central finding is that culture influences not only whether firms innovate, but also how innovation-supporting mechanisms work, combine, and gain legitimacy. A risk-taking culture strengthens organisational resilience in both contexts, but resilience translates risk-taking into product innovation particularly in the People’s Republic of China. Decentralisation does not directly improve product innovation; instead, knowledge sharing and formal rules matter in different ways across contexts. The research also finds that leadership practices enabling management innovation differ between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Finland, reflecting different expectations concerning participation, hierarchy, trust, and coordination.
This doctoral thesis generates new knowledge by showing that innovation is not merely a technical or managerial activity. It is also a culturally embedded organisational accomplishment, shaped by the broader cultural and institutional milieu in which firms operate. For managers and organisations, the findings suggest that innovation practices should not be mechanically imitated across borders. Instead, firms need to adapt structures, communication, and leadership to local expectations while preserving space for creativity, learning, and renewal. The raison d’être of innovation-enabling practices lies not only in efficiency, but also in their capacity to attain effectiveness, legitimacy, and support within the cultural and institutional contexts in which they are enacted.
Thesis available for public display 10 days prior to the defence at:
Contact information:
yian.chen@aalto.fi
+358 50 4738662
Doctoral theses in the School of Business: