知识螺旋影响研发团队创新创意产生实证研究——内部社会资本的调节效应

为了研究研发团队内部知识的交互对于创意产生的机理,通过构建概念模型,研究知识螺旋对研发团队创新创意产生的影响,并分析内部社会资本的调节效应。采用结构方程模型和分层线性分析,基于274份样本的实证研究表明:一方面,知识螺旋显著积极影响研发团队创新创意产生,并且知识表出化、知识结合化、知识内在化及知识社会化分别积极影响创新创意产生;另一方面,内部社会资本不同维度在知识螺旋与创新创意产生关系中的调节效应各不相同,结构社会资本的调节效应并不显著,而认知社会资本和关系社会资本显著正向调节知识螺旋对创新创意产生的影响。根据研究结果,提出促进研发团队创意产生的建议。     

The antecedents and innovation effects of domestic and offshore R&D outsourcing: The contingent impact of cognitive distance and absorptive capacity

This paper analyzes differences in the antecedents and performance consequences of domestic and offshore R&D outsourcing. Offshore outsourcing is characterized by larger cognitive distance. We find that absorptive capacity from internal R&D allows for more offshore outsourcing and that offshore outsourcing leads to more positive innovation outcomes, especially product innovation.     

The temporal effects of relative and firm‐level absorptive capacity on interorganizational learning

We examine how determinants of absorptive capacity influence learning in alliances over time. Using longitudinal patent cross‐citation data, we find an inverted U‐shaped pattern over time that is influenced by firm‐level and relational factors. Technological similarity only modestly increases learning in the initial stages of a relationship, but moderate levels substantially increase knowledge flows later in the alliance. High technological diversity is related to higher initial learning rates, but the effects diminish over time. Somewhat surprisingly, research and development intensity is negatively related to initial learning rates but has a considerable positive effect later in the relationship. We suggest that initial learning rates in alliances may be constrained by the capacity to absorb knowledge, while later‐stage outcomes are constrained by exploitation capacity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizing for knowledge generation: internal knowledge networks and the contingent effect of external knowledge sourcing

Research summary : When faced with a new technological paradigm, incumbent firms can opt for internal development and/or external sourcing to obtain the necessary new knowledge. We explain how the effectiveness of external knowledge sourcing depends on the properties of internal knowledge production. We apply a social network lens to delineate interpersonal, intra‐firm knowledge networks and capture the emergence of two important firm‐level properties: the incumbent's internal potential for knowledge recombination and the level of knowledge coordination costs. We rely on firm‐level internal knowledge networks to dynamically track the emergence of these properties across 106 global pharmaceutical companies over a 25‐year time period. We find that a firm's success in developing knowledge in a new technological paradigm using external knowledge sourcing is contingent on these internal knowledge properties . Managerial summary : Incumbent firms in high‐tech industries often face competence‐destroying technological change. In their effort to adapt and develop new knowledge in a novel paradigm, incumbent firms have several corporate strategy options available to them: internal knowledge development and a wide array of external knowledge sourcing strategies, including alliances and acquisitions. In this study, we make an effort to address a critical question: How effective is external knowledge sourcing under different internal knowledge generation regimes? We find that external sourcing strategies are less effective when firms can already internally generate new knowledge or if they have high internal coordination costs. Therefore, when considering external sourcing, managers must carefully weigh the benefits of it vis‐à‐vis its commensurate costs as the benefits of external sourcing may be overstated . Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Entrepreneurial orientation‐as‐experimentation and firm performance: The enabling role of absorptive capacity

According to the perspective of entrepreneurial orientation‐as‐experimentation, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) increases variability in innovation outcomes. Although increased variability in the innovation portfolio could increase performance, it could also lead to a decline in performance. We propose that absorptive capacity plays a role in both increasing and managing variations in innovation outcomes. Potential absorptive capacity enhances the effects of EO on variability in innovation outcomes, whereas realized absorptive capacity helps transform and exploit variability in innovation outcomes to enhance firm performance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

供应链关系资本对企业创新绩效的影响研究——基于需求拉动型吸收能力的视角

针对受国外技术和市场牵引较严重的4个制造类企业,构建了供应链关系资本、需求拉动型吸收能力和创新绩效三者间的概念模型,实施问卷调查,用结构方程模型验证假设。得到的结果表明:以信任为基础的供应链关系资本能够促进企业及时获取和掌握市场信息和技术知识,从而提高创新绩效。但是,样本企业供应链关系资本中的关系承诺维度对知识吸收的促进作用有待加强;需求拉动型吸收能力的知识转化和利用环节对于创新进程的促进作用有待提高。     

供应链关系资本对企业创新绩效的影响研究

针对受国外技术和市场牵引较严重的4个制造类企业,构建了供应链关系资本、需求拉动型吸收能力和创新绩效三者间的概念模型,实施问卷调查,用结构方程模型验证假设。得到的结果表明:以信任为基础的供应链关系资本能够促进企业及时获取和掌握市场信息和技术知识,从而提高创新绩效。但是,样本企业供应链关系资本中的关系承诺维度对知识吸收的促进作用有待加强;需求拉动型吸收能力的知识转化和利用环节对于创新进程的促进作用有待提高。     

The positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on innovation performance and competitive advantage in industrial markets

This study utilized structural equations modeling (SEM) to explore the positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on competitive advantages of companies through their innovation performances in Taiwanese manufacturing industry. The results of this study showed that relationship learning and absorptive capacity positively influence upon innovation performances of companies, and further have positive effects on competitive advantages of companies. In addition, this study divided the sample into three groups by the levels of relationship learning and absorptive capacity and found that there was a significant difference of innovation performance among these three groups: ‘Highly Capable Companies’, ‘Medially Capable Companies’, and ‘Lowly Capable Companies’. It is important for ‘Lowly Capable Companies’ to increase both of their relationship learning and absorptive capacity to enhance their innovation performances.     

A multilevel perspective on knowledge transfer: evidence from the Chinese automotive industry

We adopt a multilevel perspective to study the transfer of collective and individual knowledge. By making a clear theoretical distinction between collective and individual attributes in concepts such as knowledge, teaching approach, and absorptive capacity, this study extends the knowledge transfer literature and provides fresh insights into the ways in which collective and individual knowledge are transferred. Based on a survey of the capability transfer activities of 161 engineering units of multinationals in the Chinese automotive industry, we empirically validate the distinction between individual and collective teaching activities and absorptive capacity. More importantly, we find that the largely underexplored collective‐level mechanisms, such as collective teaching and collective absorptive capacity, are more effective in transferring both collective knowledge and individual knowledge in comparison to their individual‐based counterparts. Our findings also have important implications for management of multinationals and international joint ventures, particularly in emerging economies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

以知识创新为中介的社会资本对技术创新影响的模型分析

社会资本对技术创新的影响是学术界和实践界关注的热点问题之一,然而其路径和机理仍不明确。为此,试图通过一个模型分析了知识创新为中介的社会资本对技术创新的影响。首先,借鉴场论,提出了以知识创新为中介的社会资本影响技术创新的概念模型;其次,提出了修正的创新价值链模型和扩展的知识创新模型,并分析社会资本对知识创新和技术创新的直接影响,以及社会资本通过知识创新对技术创新的间接影响;最后,探究了社会资本通过知识创新影响技术创新的路径和机理,以期为企业技术创新更好地展开提供一些借鉴。     

The cost of integrating external technologies: Supply and demand drivers of value creation in the markets for technology

A classic question faced by technology suppliers and buyers is whether to compete in the product markets or to cooperate through licensing. We address this question by examining an important, demand‐side barrier to licensing—the buyers' cost of integrating a licensed technology. We argue that this cost can be affected by suppliers' knowledge transfer capabilities, buyers' absorptive capacity, and the cospecialization between R&D and downstream activities in the buyers' industries. Following this argument and a stylized bargaining model, we hypothesize that the supplier's knowledge transfer capability stimulates licensing. Moreover, the importance of this capability increases when licensing to industries where potential buyers have weak absorptive capacity or R&D and downstream activities are cospecialized. We find support for our hypotheses using a panel dataset of small ‘serial innovators.’ Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Top management team functional diversity and organizational innovation in China: The moderating effects of environment

While conflicts (cognitive and affective) have been considered as important process variables to better understand the mixed findings on the relationship between top management team functional diversity and organizational innovation, such an input‐process‐outcome model is still incomplete without considering the environmental factors. This study was formulated to assess the importance of both competitive and institutional environments in moderating such upper echelon effects within a transition economy. The chief executive officers and chief technology officers of 122 Chinese firms were surveyed and both competitive uncertainty and institutional support were found to shape top management team decision making processes and their outcomes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of U.S. company internationalization on top management team advice networks: a tacit knowledge perspective

This study surveys 37 U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs) to examine the effect of internationalization on one dimension of the top management team’s (TMT’s) character: international business advice network density. This study draws on international business (IB) theory, the resource‐based view of the firm, and philosophy of science and its view of tacit knowledge. Results show that both the firm’s internationalization extent, and the interdependence that exists across its country–market activities, are positively related to the TMT’s IB advice network density. As the extent of the MNC’s business outside the United States grows and the linkages among its IB units intensify, the demand for IB expertise within the TMT increases, TMT members share each other’s knowledge of IB more extensively and the TMT’s IB advice network density increases. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowledge diversity and coordination: The effect of intrafirm inventor task networks on absorption speed

Research Summary: We combine the absorptive capacity and social network theory approaches to predict how intrafirm “whole” network characteristics affect the firm's speed of absorption of external knowledge to produce inventions. We start from the widely accepted view that distant, externally‐developed knowledge is difficult to absorb into the focal firm's own knowledge production. We suggest that high levels of intrafirm inventor task network diversity and task network density are essential for a diversity of knowledge inputs and coordinated actions regarding knowledge transfer, which in turn, reduces problems related to the absorption of knowledge—especially in the case of knowledge that is distant from the focal firm. The results of an event history study of 113 pharmaceutical firms that engaged in technology in‐licensing from 1986 to 2003 provide general support for our hypotheses. Managerial Summary: Firms keen to keep up with an uncertain and ever‐changing industry environment, can benefit from the speedy introduction of inventions. We examine how firms absorb licensed‐in technologies to nurture the rapid development of own related inventions. We show that a firm's absorption speed depends on the characteristics of the internal collaboration networks among the firm's inventor employees. More specifically, technologically diverse and well‐connected inventor networks improve the firm's ability to absorb external technologies quickly. This applies especially to externally acquired technologies that are unfamiliar to the firm. Depending on the distance of the acquired technology from the focal firm combined with speed‐inducing inventor network characteristics, our estimates suggest that firms can reduce the time needed for absorption by several months.     

The direct and indirect effects of core and peripheral social capital on organizational performance

Research summary : In this paper we adopt a core‐periphery approach to specify the direct and indirect effects of social capital on organizational performance. We suggest that social capital deriving from stable task relationships between organizational members has a direct positive effect on organizational performance. Said effect depends, in both strength and functional form, on whether actors involved in stable dyads are located at the core or at the periphery of the organization. We also argue that core and peripheral social capital affect performance indirectly by moderating the organization's ability to leverage its human capital to improve performance. Results from a 48‐year study of the National Basketball Association support our arguments and bear important implications for strategic human resource practices and organizational performance in competitive settings. Managerial summary : Stable work relationships among employees generate trust, more efficient work routines, common understanding and thus higher organizational performance. These benefits depend on the location of such stable relationships in the organization. Relational stability among core organizational members has an immediate, strong impact on performance, an effect that plateaus as stability grows. Stable relationships between core and peripheral members have instead a weaker, yet linear effect on performance. The location of stable relationships is also critical to leverage the talent of core employees, whose contribution to performance is stronger when relational stability is high in the organizational core, yet hindered by stable relations between core and periphery. Such findings provide relevant implications for strategic human resource management, in particular for choices regarding team composition and managing stars. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High on creativity: The impact of social liberalization policies on innovation

Research Summary: We use a large‐sample inductive approach to explore the impact of two social liberalization policies (legalization of same‐sex civil unions and medical marijuana) and one anti‐liberalization policy (passage of abortion restrictions) on innovation. First, we show that liberalization policies increase state‐level patenting, while the anti‐liberalization policy reduces patenting. Next, we examine three possible mechanisms that could explain the findings. The results suggest that liberalization policies can increase the collaboration diversity of inventors, and hence, the rate, novelty, and impact of their innovation output, through promoting more liberal views and more openness to diversity. We also find speculative evidence that social liberalization policies increase entrepreneurial entry through promoting more diverse social interactions. We do not find evidence for liberal policies attracting top inventors from other regions. Managerial Summary: How does the social context impact the rate and direction of innovation? This article examines this question by exploring the impact of two social liberalization policies (legalization of same‐sex civil unions and medical marijuana) and one anti‐liberalization policy (passage of abortion restrictions) on innovation in the United States. We first show that liberalization policies increase patenting, while the anti‐liberalization policy reduces patenting. Further analyses highlight the impact of these policies on individuals’ openness to diversity as a driving mechanism. We show that inventors collaborate with more diverse partners after the implementation of liberalization policies, producing more innovations and more novel and impactful ones. We discuss the implications for firm location decisions, the impact of corporate social responsibility on innovation, and sources of regional competitive advantage.     

创新团队公平感知与知识共享行为关系研究——以成员信任为中介变量

创新团队组织形式的蓬勃发展使得团队成员的绩效激励方式成为众多管理者的研究课题。团队中掌握独特隐性知识的成员往往不愿意共享自身的有利于团队的创新知识,从而给团队的发展带来困难。如何针对这类员工做出有利于团队整体绩效提升的激励活动,是创新团队管理者和所有创新团队工作模式研究者的共同目标。通过数据模型的回归,得出如下结论:创新团队的成员公平感知与成员知识共享行为正向相关,成员对互动公平的感知对知识共享行为的影响最为显著。验证了创新团队成员信任在成员公平感知与知识共享行为之间的中介效用。     

Network structure and innovation: The leveraging of a dual network as a distinctive relational capability

This paper employs comparative longitudinal case study research to investigate why and how strong dyadic interfirm ties and two alternative network architectures (a ‘strong ties network’ and a ‘dual network’) impact the innovative capability of the lead firm in an alliance network. I answer these intrinsically cross‐level research questions by examining how three design‐intensive furnishings manufacturers managed their networks of joint‐design alliances with consulting industrial design firms over more than 30 years. Initially, in order to explore the sample lead firms' alliance behavior, I advance an operationalization of interorganizational tie strength. Next, I unveil the strengths of strong ties and the weaknesses of a strong ties network. Finally, I show that the ability to integrate a large periphery of heterogeneous weak ties and a core of strong ties is a distinctive lead firm's relational capability, one that provides fertile ground for leading firms in knowledge‐intensive alliance networks to gain competitive advantages whose sustainability is primarily based on the dynamic innovative capability resulting from leveraging a dual network architecture. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.