Value innovation in business markets: Breaking the industry recipe

The industrial marketing as well as the strategic management literature stresses the importance of “value innovation” in order to create/sustain competitive advantage and to rejuvenate the organization.In the first part of this article the construct of value innovation is operationalized within the context of selected business-to-business markets. We report the results of an ongoing research project; starting from traditional ways of value creation, the study reveals different types of value innovation initiatives undertaken by industry participants. We observe, however, that networks, firms and managers are embedded in industry recipes. These recipes block the creation and realization of value innovation. Some firms are trying to break out of existing frames and their experiences pinpoint to specific ways of markets sensing, strategic marketing and different marketing-mix tools. As such, the research frames value innovation initiatives in the existing industry contexts and managerial frames, and identifies drivers, barriers and perceived success factors for the process of value innovation.The second part of the article then looks at the stages of value innovation and their impact on marketing, organizations and networks. Based on the data analysis, the paper posits propositions which stress the concept of “multilevel absorptive capacity”.     

网络、资源与竞争优势:一个企业社会学视角下的观点

资源一直是企业获取竞争优势的主要战略因素。本文以“传统资源”为研究起点,刻画了企业行为的社会嵌入性特征,并通过引入“网络资源”这一概念揭示出一个更加全面、以企业网络及其关系资本为背景的资源分析框架,完善地拓展了传统的资源基础论观点。     

Thinking inside the box? Intellectual structure of the knowledge base of innovation research (1988–2008)

Innovation is becoming increasingly popular as a concept as well as a field of research. As a field, it has accumulated a significant amount of scientific knowledge. Based on bibliometric data from four major social science disciplines—economics, sociology, psychology, and management—this study presents a ‘global view’ of the field by combining longitudinal and structural perspectives. It identifies major research traditions in the field, determines the content and disciplinary composition of each tradition, and maps the changes in the intellectual structure of the field over time. The study suggests that innovation research is becoming increasingly compartmentalized between economics and management disciplines and each segment is becoming increasingly self‐contained. A strategy along with a framework is suggested for making research contribution to the field. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于产业集群升级的创新网络核心节点能力传递研究

在集群创新网络中,核心节点企业的创新能力较其他企业更强,研究核心节点企业创新能力传递对于集群升级至关重要。本文提出创新网络核心节点企业创新能力传递强度概念,并构建其概念模型。通过实证研究发现,创新网络核心节点企业创新能力传递强度对集群升级具有显著的正向影响,其中,创新能力传递速度和创新能力传递深度对集群升级促进作用显著;集群其他节点企业创新吸收能力调节了创新网络核心节点企业创新能力传递强度与集群升级的关系,并指出了研究结论的实践意义。     

企业社会资本与技术创新：基于吸收能力的实证研究

本文针对我国企业社会资本影响技术创新的机制问题展开分析,从企业社会资本的特征维度出发,引入吸收能力的视角,提出了基于吸收能力的企业社会资本与技术创新绩效的概念模型。在问卷调查的基础上,通过多元线性回归分析和结构方程模型分析,对我国企业社会资本如何影响技术创新的问题进行了实证研究。研究结果表明,在不考虑吸收能力作用的情况下,企业社会资本的结构、关系和认知等三个维度的水平对于我国企业技术创新绩效的提升均具有积极显著的作用;企业社会资本三个特征维度的水平通过提高吸收能力进而正向影响技术创新绩效;其中,认知维度在结构维度和关系维度发挥效应中承担中介变量的作用。为提高企业技术创新绩效,建议以知识的获取和利用为导向,注重企业社会资本三个维度水平的均衡提高。     

Do leading or lagging firms learn more from exporting?

An interesting theoretical debate arises when considering firm heterogeneity in learning from exporting. One perspective intimates that technologically lagging firms stand to benefit more from exporting because exposure to technological knowledge in foreign markets allows these firms to close the gap with their more technologically endowed counterparts. A contrasting perspective posits that technologically superior firms benefit more from exporting since these firms are better equipped to translate knowledge acquired in foreign markets into innovation. Using a sample of 1,744 Spanish manufacturing firms from 1990–1997, this study empirically investigates how exporting differentially influences the patent output of technologically leading versus technologically lagging firms. We find that exporting is associated with the ex post increase in innovative productivity for both technologically leading and lagging firms. However, subsequent to exporting, technologically leading firms apply for more patents than technologically lagging firms. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于企业内外部网络视角的创新绩效多因素影响模型与实证研究

本文在考察网络能力与创新绩效之间的逻辑关系基础上,引入内部网络效度和合作治理方式作为调节变量,检验了企业内外部网络因素对创新绩效的影响,研究结果发现:企业网络能力和内部网络效度均对创新绩效产生显著正向影响;内部网络效度对网络能力与创新绩效的关系发挥着正向的调节效应;尽管合作治理方式对创新绩效具有正面影响,但它对网络能力与创新绩效的关系不具有调节效应;此外,企业规模对外部网络能力和内部网络效度的影响差异显著。     

When do strategic alliances inhibit innovation by firms? Evidence from patent pools in the global optical disc industry

Research and development (R&D) consortia are specialized strategic alliances that shape the direction and scope of firm innovation activities. Little research exists on the performance consequences of participating in R&D consortia. We study the effect of patent pools, a unique form of R&D consortia, on firm performance in innovation. While prior research on alliances generally implies that patent pools enhance firm innovation, our study finds the opposite. Analyzing data on systemic innovation in the global optical disc industry, we find that patent pool formation substantially and significantly decreases both the quantity and quality of patents subsequently generated by licensors and licensees relative to the patenting activity of nonparticipants. Our empirical findings suggest that patent pools actually inhibit, rather than enhance, systemic innovation by participating firms. Copyright © 2011 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。