Decoupling management and technological innovations: Resolving the individualism–collectivism controversy

This study aims to resolve the contradictory previous research findings on the relationship between individualism–collectivism and innovation. We draw on innovation theory and relate to the difference between non-technological (management) and technological innovation types as well as to the distinction between exploration and exploitation (invention and commercialization of technological innovations). Using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2006 micro data for innovation at the organizational level in 13 countries – along with Hofstede, 1980, Hofstede, 2001, GLOBE (2005), and Schwartz (2006) scores for individualism–collectivism – we apply Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). The results indicate that individualism is positively related to the invention phase, whereas collectivism is beneficial for the commercialization of innovative ideas. Furthermore, in collectivistic cultures, management innovation plays a more important stimulating role in enhancing technological innovation than it does in individualistic ones. This provides the managers with an idea of when innovation processes in their companies would be more favorable versus detrimental.     

基于企业生命周期的组织创新要素与技术创新要素协同模式研究

为解决我国企业技术创新高投入低产出的问题,本文提出了同时实施与技术创新具有互补性的组织创新的必要性。以组织创新与技术创新内部复杂相关关系作为研究对象,深入分析了不同企业生命周期阶段组织创新与技术创新协同的不同导向关系。构建企业出生、成长、成熟与蜕变阶段的组织创新要素与技术创新要素协同模型,并应用129家企业的问卷调研数据对理论模型进行验证。研究将有助于管理者深入理解企业不同生命阶段的创新行为,并据此科学地实施组织创新与技术创新来延长企业的生命周期。     

Performance effects of IT capability, service process innovation, and the mediating role of customer service

Few academic studies have investigated how information technology (IT) capability and service process innovation can create performance gains for firms through customer service. We propose that customer service is a significant mediator through which IT capability and service process innovation influence the performance of a firm, and that IT capability is also a critical factor that facilitates service process innovation. Empirical support for our argument was derived from data collected from 174 firms in the Taiwan IT industry. The results suggest that managerial initiatives should be directed at developing IT capability and service process innovation and leveraging them to facilitate customer service to attain superior firm performance. Furthermore, greater IT capability would lead to a higher degree of service process innovation.     

The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on process and organizational innovation

This study examines how the interactive use of management control systems (iMCS) affects process and organizational innovation. Firstly, it is postulated that iMCS directly influences the development of process and organizational innovations. Secondly, we argue in favor of a moderating role of iMCS in the relationship between innovation and financial performance. Most studies of MCS and innovation have focused on new product development. However, process and organizational innovations follow innovation patterns that clearly differ from product innovation. The research model is empirically examined using data collected from a survey of 230 firms. Results from a structural model tested applying Partial Least Squares regression, controlling for size, family ownership, R&D, and product innovation, reveal that iMCS fosters process and organizational innovation. Results also suggest that iMCS could play a moderator role in the relationship between process innovation and financial performance. These findings highlight the role of iMCS in process and organizational innovation, expanding previous literature on Simons’ Levers of Control and innovation. The results are also discussed with regard to their managerial implications.     

创新数量、创新质量与高技术产业出口

中国已经成为创新大国，拥有较大规模的创新数量，但还不是创新强国，创新质量水平较低。在贸易保护主义日趋严重的今天，研究创新数量、创新质量与外贸出口的互动机制具有重要意义。本文基于高技术产业面板数据，采用面板数据模型、贝叶斯向量自回归模型分析了创新数量、创新质量与出口的互动关系。研究结果表明：创新数量与外贸出口之间呈现良性互动；创新质量与外贸出口互动作用较低；企业研发经费投入能有效地促进创新数量与创新质量的提升；政府研发经费投入不能有效地促进创新数量与创新质量的提升；创新数量、创新质量之间具有一定的良性互动关系。     

案例:对信雅达创新能力提升机制的研究

本案例以信雅达系统工程股份有限公司的13年发展过程为背景,通过为期九个月的蹲点调研的方式来跟踪企业创新的全过程,并采用深入访谈和二手资料收集的方式采集数据,进而分析其创新能力提升的动力机制.访谈对象的范围跨越公司决策层、管理层和执行层.我们认为,第一,创新具有全面性,企业绩效的提升需要以各要素能力的提升为基础;第二,政府政策、企业家、新产品开发、创新者、IT技术是企业创新能力的重要推动者;第三,企业的战略协调能力是企业创新能力提升的关键,战略、文化、技术、市场等要素之间的动态匹配程度决定了企业创新的效率和效果.     

我国东中西部地区专利创新效率差异研究

随着科学技术和社会经济的发展,创新成为推动经济迅速发展的重要力量,而专利是创新成果的主要表现形式,在生产实践中成功应用专利是提高生产力的重要动力。由于我国各区域的经济水平和产业结构等方面存在不同,因此,各区域的专利创新效率也存在差异。本文通过设计专利创新效率综合评价指标体系,运用数据包络分析的方法,对我国东中西部区域创新效率进行了综合分析。继而运用多元统计回归的方法探讨了形成各地区专利创新效率差异的影响因素。     

Big Data Analytics Capabilities and Innovation: The Mediating Role of Dynamic Capabilities and Moderating Effect of the Environment

With big data analytics growing rapidly in popularity, academics and practitioners have been considering the means through which they can incorporate the shifts these technologies bring into their competitive strategies. Drawing on the resource‐based view, the dynamic capabilities view, and on recent literature on big data analytics, this study examines the indirect relationship between a big data analytics capability (BDAC) and two types of innovation capabilities: incremental and radical. The study extends existing research by proposing that BDACs enable firms to generate insight that can help strengthen their dynamic capabilities, which in turn positively impact incremental and radical innovation capabilities. To test their proposed research model, the authors used survey data from 175 chief information officers and IT managers working in Greek firms. By means of partial least squares structural equation modelling, the results confirm the authors’ assumptions regarding the indirect effect that BDACs have on innovation capabilities. Specifically, they find that dynamic capabilities fully mediate the effect on both incremental and radical innovation capabilities. In addition, under conditions of high environmental heterogeneity, the impact of BDACs on dynamic capabilities and, in sequence, incremental innovation capability is enhanced, while under conditions of high environmental dynamism the effect of dynamic capabilities on incremental innovation capabilities is amplified.     

Multivariate models for innovation—Looking at the Abernathy-Utterback model with other data

The contribution of the Utterback and Abernathy model is reviewed from the point of view of methodology; then its feasibility is tested with United Kingdom multivariate data on innovation covering many industries. Although some aspects of innovation are confirmed, some facts that do not fit the model suggest that it might be a building block but still fails to give an integrative framework to understand innovation.     

Does age diversity boost technological innovation? Exploring the moderating role of HR practices

We shed new light on the linkages between age diversity and technological innovation, and explore the moderating effect of human resource practices on such relationships. Based on a linked dataset that contains cross-sectional survey data and longitudinal employer–employee data from Luxembourg, we show that the effect of age diversity on innovation depends on the age distribution pattern of employees: positive for firms characterized by heterogeneous age groups (variety), negative for those dominated by polarized age groups (polarization). HR practices such as information sharing mitigate the adverse effects of age polarization on innovation. Practices enhancing development such as training are found to play a significant and negative role in moderating the relationship between age diversity and innovation. We illustrate how academics and practitioners may use HR practices within the context of a heterogeneous aging workforce and the age-related differences in values and abilities between generations.     

分布式领导、组织支持感与新生代员工主动性-被动性创新行为:基于上下级关系和价值观匹配的交互调节效应

新生代员工正逐渐成为企业的主力军,其创新意识和行为直接影响着企业发展的前景与未来。本文基于中国文化和组织情境,从员工个体创新动机视角将新生代员工创新行为归为主动和被动,以306名新生代员工为研究对象,验证了分布式领导对新生代员工不同性质创新行为的作用机制。研究结果表明:分布式领导与新生代员工主动性创新行为呈正相关关系,与其被动性创新行为呈负相关关系;组织支持感在分布式领导与新生代员工主动性-被动性创新行为之间具有中介作用;上下级关系和价值观匹配正向调节分布式领导与新生代员工组织支持感之间的关系,并进一步检验了有调节的中介效应。此外,上下级关系和价值观匹配的交互项调节了分布式领导与新生代员工组织支持感之间的关系。本文研究为企业如何指导新生代员工进行有效的创新实践提供了经验证据。     

企业融资约束与创新绩效:人力资本社会网络的视角

企业融资约束对创新绩效具有重要的影响作用。现有相关研究对企业融资约束与创新绩效之间可能存在的、更为复杂的非线性关系考虑不足，同时偏重从企业外部宏观的角度提出缓解二者之间消极关系的方法，不利于企业能动性的发挥。本文通过结合领英（LinkedIn）在线简历大数据和国泰安（CSMAR）上市企业相关数据，实证研究了我国上市企业融资约束与创新绩效之间存在的复杂关系以及人力资本社会网络在其中发挥的重要作用。研究结果表明，企业融资约束与创新绩效之间存在显著的倒U型关联，企业中高层管理者、科技人才的流动所形成的人力资本社会网络对企业融资约束与创新绩效之间的关系存在显著的积极调节作用。研究结论延续和深化了企业融资约束与创新的相关研究，并进一步丰富与拓展了人力资本社会网络在企业行为研究中的应用。     

政府补贴能激励企业创新吗？——基于演化博弈的新创与在位企业创新行为分析

为考察政府补贴激励企业创新的有效性，文章将补贴对象、补贴强度和补贴环境纳入同一框架，分析补贴效果与企业属性、补贴强度和竞争程度的关系。首先以企业创新偏好的异质性为前提构建政府补贴下新创企业与在位企业的演化博弈模型，分析产品市场竞争和补贴强度的变化影响企业创新行为选择的机理；然后利用门槛模型和我国143家上市企业数据，实证检验补贴强度和产品市场竞争对不同企业创新选择行为的作用。研究结果表明：政府补贴更易对新创企业产生激励作用；只有在补贴强度超过阈值的情况下，政府补贴才能促使不同企业均选择创新；产品市场竞争弱化了政府补贴对企业创新的促进作用。因此，政府除继续加大对企业创新支持力度以外，还应对不同企业实施差异化补贴政策，并针对不同的市场竞争环境制定合理的补贴资源分配战略。     

Framing the multifaceted nature of design thinking in addressing different innovation purposes

Scholars and practitioners acknowledge the role of design, and specifically design thinking, as a driver of innovation and change. Design thinking is gaining attention in the business community beyond the traditional product innovation realm and is increasingly promoted as an engine for the creation of novel user experiences, new businesses, strategic transformation, organizational and cultural change. Is it reasonable to assume that the same set of practices fits such a broad range of applications equally well? This study addresses how design thinking applications are differently framed when addressing diverse innovation purposes. Specifically, we compare two purposes: innovation of solutions, encompassing traditional product and service development projects, and innovation of direction, encompassing strategic and organizational renewal projects. Based on data collected from 146 design thinking projects conducted by European consulting firms we investigate the relationships between the design thinking practices adopted and the value generated by the projects. We then analyze how these relationships vary depending on the purpose of the innovation project, namely whether focused on innovating solutions or direction. The results show that different purposes indeed call for different practices. In projects aimed at innovating solutions, market value is positively related to capturing current user needs and envisioning future society. Conversely, in projects aimed at innovating direction, market value is positively related to challenging current assumptions.     

External Knowledge Sourcing and Firm Innovation Efficiency

This study examines the relationship between external knowledge sourcing and firm innovation efficiency. We build on the organizational learning theory to propose that this relationship follows an inverted U‐shape: as the level of external knowledge sourcing increases from low to moderate, firm innovation efficiency increases; as the level of external knowledge sourcing increases from moderate to high, firm innovation efficiency declines. Further, we explore the moderating role of different contextual factors and contend that this inverted U‐shaped relationship is flattened in firms that operate in high‐tech sectors and in firms that face high internal constraints for innovation. Our empirical analysis is based on a sample of 3,204 Spanish firms over the period 2004–2015, and our results provide support for these contentions. We used data envelopment analysis methodology to estimate firm innovation efficiency relative to industry best performers, and truncated regression models for panel data with bootstrapped confidence intervals to test our hypotheses.     

纺织业中小企业全面创新能力提升的实证研究

在全面创新管理理论基础上,以浙江省纺织业中小企业为研究对象,通过问卷调查,对全面创新能力如何影响企业创新绩效进行了实证研究.统计分析表明,中小企业实施全面创新管理有助于提升企业创新绩效.但不同维度的创新能力对创新绩效的影响具有差异性.对于纺织业中小企业而言,战略能力与技术能力是当前实现全面创新管理的重点.     

Coopetition in New Product Development Alliances: Advantages and Tensions for Incremental and Radical Innovation

Coopetition (collaboration between competitors) can facilitate product innovation, but there is still debate about how it is suited to radical or incremental innovation. This paper argues that the early and later phases of coopetitive new product development (NPD) pose different benefits and risks for the innovation types. Building on the tensions approach to value creation and appropriation, we develop a series of hypotheses on the role of coopetition in NPD alliances and focal firm's innovation output. The hypotheses are tested on a quantitative data set of 1049 NPD alliances in the German medical and machinery sectors. The results show that, while coopetition is advantageous for incremental innovation in both pre‐launch and launch phases, radical innovation benefits from coopetition in the launch phase only.     

创新网络嵌入与高技术企业研发人员创新绩效关系研究

 创新驱动的实质是人才驱动,企业技术管理的重要核心之一是人员管理。研发人员是高技术企业的核心人力资本和主导资源,具有典型的稀缺性、创造性、主导性、体验性以及高信息需求等异质性特征,能否采取切实有效措施满足研发人员的异质性需求,激活其创新潜力和活力,是提升高技术企业创新绩效和管理技术人员的关键。        聚焦于高技术企业研发人员的异质性需求特征,运用创新网络嵌入理论,提出创新网络嵌入、创新效能感与创新绩效的关系假设模型;借鉴成熟量表,设计相关测量变量的调查问卷;利用Spss 19.0和Amos 21.0软件,对北京、上海、武汉、广州等地高技术企业研发人员的269个调查数据进行分析,考察创新网络嵌入对研发人员创新绩效的影响和作用机理,并验证创新效能感的中介作用。        研究结果表明,高技术企业研发人员的创新网络结构嵌入对创新过程和创新结果均具有显著正向影响,而关系嵌入仅对创新过程具有正向影响;创新网络结构嵌入和关系嵌入对创新效能感均具有显著正向影响,创新效能感对创新过程和创新结果具有显著正向影响;创新效能感在研发人员结构嵌入和关系嵌入对创新过程的影响中起完全中介作用,在结构嵌入对创新结果的影响中起部分中介作用。        从技术人员创新绩效管理的微观视角入手,探究高技术企业研发人员创新绩效的内涵、实质和影响因素,对高技术企业研发人员的创新网络嵌入与创新绩效的关系、创新效能感的中介作用以及创新网络嵌入与创新绩效的关系研究中关系嵌入悖论进行实证检验和解读,提出提升高技术企业研发人员创新绩效的创新网络嵌入式开发策略,包括聚焦产学研战略协同和集群创新、强化关系网络建设和位置管理、营造宽松氛围以提升创新效能感等。     

集群企业创新来源、技术能力及创新绩效关系研究

产业集群为中小企业创新提供了良好的环境,促进了中小企业的技术学习.本文以浙江省产业集群中的中小企业为研究对象,通过问卷调查,对创新来源、技术能力及创新绩效的关系进行了分析.分别从产品创新来源和工艺创新来源两个方面进行了实证研究,检验并支持了技术能力的中介作用,以及创新来源对创新绩效的正向影响.     

技术创新绩效及创新模式的案例研究

创新是企业活力和企业发展的源泉,卓有成效的技术创新模式是技术创新绩效的根本保证。本文采用了单案例研究法,以山东省兖州煤业兴隆庄煤矿为例,首先分析了兴隆庄煤矿自建矿27年来的技术创新绩效;在此基础上,从技术创新模式的先导、切入点、依托、主线和落脚点的视角,对兴隆庄煤矿的全面创新、内部协同创新、二次创新和自主创新等方面进行了案例研究,并对兴隆庄煤矿成功的技术创新模式进行了理论概况。这一独具特色的兴隆庄煤矿技术创新模式,对中国煤炭企业和其他资源型企业的技术创新模式选择和技术创新管理都将有着重要的借鉴意义和参考价值。