Malte H. G. Schneider, Johannes Hofmeister, Dominik K. Kanbach

• Ensuring that innovations are implemented organisation-wide remains a critical business challenge for organisations. This study identifies how organisations can improve the effectiveness of innovations and specifies the effects of innovation implementation antecedents and capabilities. By applying a mixed method approach, using data from 42 semi-structured interviews and 125 questionnaire participants, we develop a new framework for understanding the mechanisms that underlie and enhance effective innovation implementation. The results emphasise that achieving high and consistent use of innovations requires organisations to focus on organisational members and their individual characteristics, rather than on organisational design. Additionally, implementation leadership serves as a central mediator to explain the framework’s relationships. Furthermore, a middle management-driven approach that combines implementation leadership and dialogue facilitates the effective implementation of innovation. In conclusion, our study contributes to innovation implementation research by presenting a framework to guide future research, whilst helping practitioners to implement innovations more effectively.