外部搜寻、联结强度、吸收能力与创新绩效的关系

从企业边界理论和知识基础观出发,研究搜寻宽度和搜寻深度对组织探索式创新绩效和应用式创新绩效的影响;引入联结强度和吸收能力作为情景变量,探讨二者对主效应的调节作用;利用三项交互方法,探讨外部搜寻战略、联结强度和吸收能力三者的交互作用对创新绩效的影响;以281家本土制造业企业为样本,利用分层回归分析和三项交互分析方法进行实证研究。 研究结果表明,搜寻宽度与探索式创新绩效正相关,与应用式创新绩效呈倒U形关系,搜寻深度与应用式创新绩效正相关;联结强度负向调节搜寻宽度与探索式创新绩效之间的关系,正向调节搜寻深度与应用式创新绩效之间的关系;实际吸收能力正向调节搜寻宽度与探索式创新绩效之间的关系,潜在吸收能力正向调节搜寻深度与应用式创新绩效之间的关系;搜寻宽度、联结强度和实际吸收能力三者交互项与探索式创新绩效负相关,搜寻深度、联结强度和潜在吸收能力三者交互项与应用式创新绩效正相关。 通过探讨外部搜寻、联结强度和吸收能力的三项交互作用对创新绩效的影响,发现搜寻宽度和搜寻深度对创新绩效的显著差异化影响,有助于从一个新的视角解释外部搜寻与创新绩效之间的“关系争论”;已有外部搜寻研究往往忽略组织间的联结机制,通过引入联结强度,弥补了联结机制的缺失;区别于已有吸收能力的直接效应研究,将吸收能力作为调节变量分情景讨论,丰富了吸收能力的权变视角研究。研究结果有助于加强外部搜寻理论研究,并一定程度上有利于指导中国企业具体创新实践。     

External knowledge search,absorptive capacity and radical innovation in high-technology firms

Open innovation and absorptive capacity are two concepts based on the idea that companies can leverage the knowledge generated externally to improve their innovation performance. The aim of this paper is to analyse the joint effect of open innovation and absorptive capacity on a firm's radical innovation. Open innovation is expressed in terms of external search breadth and depth strategies and absorptive capacity is described by distinguishing between potential and realized absorptive capacity. In order to test our hypotheses, we carried out empirical research in firms operating in high-technology industries. The results indicate that internal routines and processes for absorbing external knowledge help explain radical innovation as they show a significant effect of potential and realized absorptive capacity. Also, there is a moderating effect of absorptive capacity on open innovation. Specifically, potential absorptive capacity exerts a positive effect on the relationship between external search breadth and depth and radical innovation. Realized absorptive capacity moderates the influence of external search breadth. These findings confirm the complementary nature of absorptive capacity and open innovation search strategies on radical innovation.     

Overcoming pandemic challenges through product innovation: The role of digital technologies and servitization

The fast-changing scenario related to the COVID-19 pandemic calls for firms to rapidly redefine and innovate their strategies to sustain their businesses, with research emphasizing the key roles of digital technologies and servitization. We aim to enrich the theoretical debate on this matter by assessing how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) achieve product innovation under time constraints by leveraging two specific technology groups (information and communication technologies [ICT] and Industry 4.0 data-processing technologies) and servitization. The research is based on a mixed-method approach consisting of an original survey completed by 257 Italian SMEs (grounded on a previous qualitative study about such SMEs' behaviors during the first Italian lockdown), followed by in-depth interviews with the owners and/or managers of the eight SMEs that participated in the survey. The results show a positive relationship between the increased use of digital technologies (ICT and Industry 4.0 data-processing technologies) during the pandemic with servitization and, in turn, with product innovation. Specifically, the increased use of ICT during the pandemic had a direct positive effect on product innovation, while Industry 4.0 data-processing technologies affected product innovation only through the full mediation of servitization. The qualitative study allowed us to highlight how the different kinds of digital technologies supported SMEs’ innovation (servitization and product innovation) during the pandemic. The theoretical and practical contributions of this study are discussed.     

Effects of intellectual capital and university knowledge in indigenous innovation: evidence from Indian SMEs

Abstract

Intellectual capital and collaboration with universities are vital knowledge management practices for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to innovate and improve the effectiveness of their operations. This study investigates empirically the impacts of intellectual capital and university knowledge on indigenous innovation and how business and institutional environments affect the relationships. The research model is tested using moderated regression analysis and data collected from 150 SMEs in India. The results show that intellectual capital and university knowledge improve indigenous innovation, both individually and interactively. The effect of intellectual capital in indigenous innovation is amplified by dysfunctional competition whereas the effect of university knowledge in indigenous innovation is attenuated by environmental uncertainty. In addition, we find that indigenous innovation is positively associated with business performance. The impact of indigenous innovation on business performance is enhanced by dysfunctional competition but reduced by environmental uncertainty.     

Knowledge infrastructure capability,absorptive capacity and inbound open innovation: evidence from SMEs in France

Abstract

Inbound open innovation (IOI) has become a potentially valuable means of gaining competitive advantage and enhancing organizational performance. This article explores how knowledge infrastructure capability (KIC) affects IOI through the moderating role of absorptive capacity. This research conceptualizes and develops three dimensions of KIC (technological, structural and cultural), and tests the relationships between KIC, absorptive capacity and IOI. Data for the study were collected from 125 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based in France, and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that higher levels of KIC can lead to enhanced absorptive capacity and improved IOI. That is, KIC can have a direct, positive impact on absorptive capacity and IOI. Moreover, absorptive capacity partially mediates the linkage between KIC and IOI. The article contributes to the conceptualization of the impact of KIC on IOI, by emphasizing a firm’s absorptive capacity. It offers a validated instrument to measure KIC, and provides an empirical evidence of the impact of KIC on absorptive capacity and IOI. This article also extends the extant literature by focusing on KIC and absorptive capacity simultaneously in a model to understand the notion of IOI in the SMEs based in France. This study offers useful guidance for measuring and implementing KIC in a SME context and encourages further research in this area.     

Knowledge sharing for innovation performance improvement in micro/SMEs: an insight from the creative sector

Abstract

As economies become more reliant on innovative, knowledge-intensive firms, understanding the interaction between knowledge and improving innovation performance is increasingly important. Although most UK businesses are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (micro/SMEs), knowledge management research has tended to focus on large companies Knowledge sharing can be critical for innovation performance, especially for smaller players with limited resources. Our study presents an insight from micro/SMEs operating in the highly knowledge-intensive and innovative games/entertainment software development sector. Using a mixed method approach, we investigate knowledge sharing and its contribution to firm innovation performance improvements. Our findings suggest that micro/SMEs are at the forefront of the creative sector precisely because of their smaller size. Our study reveals evidence of knowledge donation but limited evidence of knowledge collection in the knowledge sharing process. We develop a model highlighting the importance of industry context, individual knowledge and organizational size in knowledge sharing for innovation performance.     

探索式创新、利用式创新与绩效:战略和环境的影响

本文基于397家中国企业的样本数据,对探索式创新、利用式创新与企业绩效之间的关系进行了实证研究,着重考察了探索式创新、利用式创新的内部匹配关系以及这两类创新行为与企业战略和环境的外部匹配关系。结果表明,两类创新行为分别对企业绩效有直接的正向影响,两类创新行为之间的内部匹配对绩效无显著影响,两类创新行为与企业战略和环境竞争性的外部匹配关系对绩效有显著影响。     

反应型和先动型市场导向对产品创新和经营绩效的影响研究

探讨了反应型和先动型市场导向是否影响以及如何影响利用式创新和探索式创新,进而影响企业的经营绩效。对227家制造型企业的问卷调查研究结果显示:①反应型和先动型市场导向及利用式和探索式创新量表在我国制造业环境下具有良好的信度和效度;②2种类型市场导向对2种程度的创新均具有正向影响,其中,先动型市场导向对组织创新和企业绩效的促进作用更为明显;③2种类型的创新都有助于改善企业绩效;④创新均衡对企业绩效的改善也有显著作用。此外,研究为我国制造企业在何种程度上采纳市场导向战略管理工具来改善组织创新和经营绩效,提供了管理上的启示。     

Linking Dynamic Absorptive Capacity and Service Innovation for Born Global Service Firms: An Organization Innovation Lens Perspective

Grounded in the dynamic capabilities approach and organizational sub-system view on internationalization, this quantitative study develops and empirically tests a model of international market performance of born global service firms. While several scholars highlighted innovativeness as a driver of competitiveness for born global firms, the capacities underlying the born global firm's innovativeness have received limited scholarly attention, specifically, dynamic absorptive capacities (exploratory, transformative, and exploitative learning capacities). The uniqueness of this paper posits that dynamic absorptive capacities in a born global service firm have contributed to innovation and resulted in international market outcomes. The data was collected using the survey method from born global service firms and was analyzed using structured equation modeling. The findings of this study reveal that service innovation and business strategy are critical drivers of international performance for born global service firms. The paper contributes to the literature on the significance of absorptive capacity in born global service firms by identifying those dynamic absorptive capacities that operate in a composite set of relationships with other capabilities and significantly contribute to their innovation, impacting their internationalization outcomes. This study also supplements the theoretical and practical implications derived from the key findings of this study and provides future research directions.     

The multi-level effects of corporate entrepreneurial orientation on business unit radical innovation and financial performance

Corporate enterprises must support its business units to adapt to changes that are increasingly dramatic and complex. In response, corporate entities must organize to embed a corporate entrepreneurial orientation (EO) that pervades the actions of its business units to create the radical innovations needed to thrive in these circumstances. By developing a global willingness–local ability framework, we test a multi-level model of corporate EO by conceptualizing its effects on business unit radical innovation and business unit financial performance, moderated by business unit R&D resourcing and business unit absorptive capacity. With data from 2820 business units of 1290 Taiwanese corporations from two separate surveys, we find support for our theoretical expectations and contribute much-needed knowledge of the multi-level effects of EO and the conditions to turn EO into actual innovation activity and profit from it.     

Organizational learning in SMEs’ internationalization: A moderated mediating effect of absorptive capacity

We examine both mediation and moderation effects on the direct relationship between internationalization speed and firm performance in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Building on prior studies that focus either on the direct speed–performance linkage or the moderating role played by knowledge, we suggest that an important source of performance variations is organizational learning. Grounded in the organizational learning perspective, we argue that firm strategies regarding speed and earliness of internationalization provide the SMEs with opportunities to develop their absorptive capacity, and thus enhance their performance. Using survey data from 343 SMEs in Australia and New Zealand, our empirical results suggest that absorptive capacity is associated with internationalization speed in a reversed U-shape relationship and that in turn absorptive capacity mediates the direct speed–performance relationship. Moreover, this mediating effect is moderated by earliness of internationalization. By demonstrating the moderated mediating effect of absorptive capacity as a novel mechanism to achieving superior performance, we enhance the understanding of how firms succeed internationally.     

家长式领导对创新的影响:一个整合模型

本文基于现有的双核模型和两栖模型,构建一个整合模型,分析了家长式领导对创新的影响。运用159家高科技企业的问卷调查数据进行假设检验,结果发现,威权领导对利用式创新有负向直接影响;威权领导能正向调节利用式创新与新产品绩效的关系;仁慈领导对探索式创新和利用式创新均有正向直接影响;仁慈领导能负向调节探索式创新与新产品绩效的关系,还能正向调节利用式创新与新产品绩效的关系。     

Relative capacity: Retaining knowledge outside a firm's boundaries

Besides internalizing external knowledge, companies may maintain knowledge in interfirm relationships over time. Thus, interorganizational relations may be regarded as an extended knowledge base to which a firm has privileged access. We merge research into knowledge management, absorptive capacity, learning, and dynamic capabilities to analyze knowledge retention outside a firm's boundaries. Prior research into knowledge management has focused on internally storing knowledge, whereas research into knowledge transactions has primarily studied the internalization of external knowledge. The need to dynamically manage knowledge in interfirm relations over time – without necessarily internalizing this knowledge – has been relatively neglected. Therefore, we develop the foundations of the dynamic capability-based concept of relative capacity as a complement to absorptive capacity and transformative capacity in external knowledge retention. Relative capacity contributes to explaining interfirm differences in knowledge strategies, alliance strategies, organizational boundaries, open innovation, and performance. To guide further research, propositions are advanced regarding the antecedents and consequences of relative capacity.     

组织冗余的利用对中国企业创新产出的影响

从冗余的控制权的角度将企业已吸收的冗余划分为分散冗余和组合冗余,分析了这两种冗余的利用对企业创新的影响,构建了一个包含冗余、吸收能力与创新之间关系的结构方程模型,并运用在607家企业进行的问卷调查所获取的数据实证检验了这个模型。结果显示,分散冗余和组合冗余分别与产品创新和过程创新存在显著的正相关关系,不同的冗余与不同的吸收能力之间存在一定的匹配关系,这种关系能够导致不同的创新产出。结果表明,中国企业的冗余与西方企业的冗余一样,都能够促进企业的创新产出,因此,广泛采用一刀切式的“减员”手段未必是中国企业“增效”的最有效率的策略。     

企业知识吸收能力与绩效的关系研究

在资源基础理论的基础上,通过对我国不同行业近200家企业的问卷调研,运用实证分析剖析企业知识吸收能力,揭示了知识转化和创新能力与绩效之间的关系,认为在探讨企业的知识吸收能力上,应该重视企业内部支持与外部支持的影响作用,并阐明在知识吸收能力中,知识转化能力会在很大程度上影响企业的绩效水平,而其知识创新能力的影响不明显。     

A resource-based view on SMEs regarding the transition to more sophisticated stages of industry 4.0

The integration of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the concept Industry 4.0 represents one of its main challenges, as they play a vital part in industrial value chains that shall be digitized from suppliers to the end customer. However, what the implementation stages for Industry 4.0 in SMEs should be as well as the respective resources for achieving the next stage are scarcely understood. In response, this paper proposes a framework using a resource-based review for Industry 4.0 implementation according to the stage of development in SMEs, created between researchers, policy makers, and 354 manufacturing SMEs in the province of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain). The paper applies a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative (interviews) and quantitative elements (survey data). The results are used to develop a model with four stages of SMEs that are characterized by having distinct preconditions and conditions for Industry 4.0. Thereupon, the required measures to achieve the next stage of Industry 4.0 implementation are derived. This highlights Industry 4.0 for SMEs as a process with different stages toward achieving sustainable competitive advantage and offering insight into how the different resources operate. The high importance and advanced position regarding industrial value creation and SMEs in Gipuzkoa allows to generalize and transfer the findings to other European regions.     

市场导向提升中小企业创新能力的机制探讨

创新能力是企业持续与高速发展的关键,尤其对中小企业显得更为重要.影响中小企业创新能力的因素很多,本文从市场导向的视角出发,基于市场导向提升创新能力机制研究缺乏的现状,结合企业实际情况,探讨市场导向如何促进中小企业创新能力提升.研究发现,基于文化现的市场导向,提升创新能力的主要机制:核心技术攻关、构建经营模式、差异化战略以及有效利用用户创新.然后探讨了市场导向的执行需要其他要素的匹配,对影响市场导向作用的相关因素进行简要分析.结尾部分指出本研究的不足之处与将来研究方向.     

Exploitative Learning and Entrepreneurial Orientation Alignment in Emerging Young Firms: Implications for Market and Response Performance*

We examine exploitative learning and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in emerging young high technology firms located within business incubators. In the last five years, the UK government has invested approximately £125m in incubation activities. The rationale for supporting business incubation is to maximize knowledge sharing across firms with an expectation that it will leverage performance. This represents exploitative learning – the acquisition of established knowledge that carries clear known value and outcomes. Paradoxically, research into EO has repeatedly emphasized the value of knowledge created through exploratory learning mechanisms (‘play, discovery and experimentation’) in securing advantage. Theoretical and empirical questions are raised herein with regard to the value of exploitative learning within a network context which might negatively influence the impact of EO on the firm. Using configuration theory, we demonstrate that firms cannot sustain dual‐dominant orientations of exploitative learning and EO. A strongly configured EO generates high performance returns. However, multi‐group analysis reveals that these effects are particularly strong for those firms whose exploitative learning is weak. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Leadership and business model innovation in late internationalizing SMEs

Drawing on the distinction between small-scale and large-scale business model innovation, and between directive and empowering leadership, we examine how CEOs in SMEs lead business model innovation during the process of internationalization. Building on eight cases of Japanese manufacturing SMEs, we develop a theoretical framework pointing to two different patterns in the articulation between CEO leadership style and business model innovation. We show that small-scale business model innovation led by directive leadership results in a timelier foreign market entry. However, in order to increase international sales, large-scale business model innovation is required. This is facilitated by an empowering leadership style of the CEO.     

浙江省机械行业中小企业创新能力分析探讨

本文基于全面创新管理的框架,分析浙江省机械行业中小企业创新能力情况.首先,根据全面创新管理的范式,构建主要的创新能力,分析总体的情况,然后探索企业创新能力的发展状况.最后对创新能力与创新绩效之间的关系作了一定分析.