Unpacking organisational culture for innovation in Australian mining industry

Innovation has become the backbone of organisations in today's increasingly changing environment. Research shows that many organisations fail to innovate due to a lack of a supportive culture. Particularly in the mining industry, with a dominant risk-averse mindset along with other barriers, such as capital intensiveness, frequent market fluctuations, and siloed and bureaucratic structures, developing an innovation culture is necessary for the future survival of the industry. However, the existing literature is still inconclusive regarding which cultural values promote innovation and is especially lacking in context-specific studies. Understanding of behaviours that should be promoted to support an innovation culture is still limited. Using a systematic literature review and 18 interviews with experts in the mining industry, this study unpacks the dimensions and behaviours that support innovation values in the context of the Australian mining industry. Findings from this study reveal 33 underlying cultural dimensions and specific organisational behaviours promoting an innovation culture. This study shed further light on how mining companies can support and promote an innovation culture.

© 2021. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/