Effect of new product alliances on building cross-functional capability: cross-fertilisation or cannibalisation?

ABSTRACT

The extant literature has focused mainly on how establishing alliances helps firms develop their capabilities within focal functional areas, while paying limited attention to the cross-functional effects of alliances. Drawing on the knowledge-spillover literature and resource-dependence theory, this study investigates the effects of new product development (NPD) alliances on building cross-functional capabilities, testing the influences of important organisational, strategic, and environmental contingencies. Based on survey data collected from 212 Chinese firms, the findings reveal that, for resource-abundant firms, R&D-focused NPD alliances have cross-functional fertilisation effects on marketing capabilities; whereas for resource-constrained or highly innovative firms such alliances cannibalise marketing capabilities; in dynamic markets, marketing-focused NPD alliances cross-fertilise technological capabilities, but such an effect is weaker in firms adopting a highly incremental innovation orientation. Overall, this study sheds new light on how NPD alliances affect cross-functional capabilities under important contingencies.     

Direct and configurational paths of open innovation and organisational agility to business model innovation in SMEs

ABSTRACT

Discussions on opportunities and enablers have remained lacking despite the continued growth of business model innovation (BMI) research. In order to investigate the formation mechanism of BMI in small-medium enterprises (SMEs), we proposed an integrated model, which included factors derived from organisational internal resources and capabilities via the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities view (DCV). Structural equation model (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were utilised to test the survey data collected from 245 SMEs in China. SEM results support the hypotheses, except that on the impact of outbound open innovation on market capitalising agility and on BMI. The fsQCA analysis revealed that four configurations of open innovations and organisational agilities can sufficiently explain high levels of BMI, and two configurations of these factors lead to low BMI. The theoretical and practical implications of such findings were also provided.     

Technology capabilities,marketing capabilities and innovation ambidexterity

Linking the literature of resource-based view (RBV) with ambidexterity, we construct an integrative framework of technology capabilities, marketing capabilities, innovation ambidexterity, and organisational performance. Using data from a sample of 190 Chinese hospitals, we find that both technology capabilities and marketing capabilities have an inverse U-shape relationship with innovation ambidexterity. And they can complementarily improve innovation ambidexterity, which further enhances organisational performance. This study deepens our understanding of RBV and ambidexterity by investigating the antecedent roles of technological and marketing capabilities on innovation ambidexterity. We also investigate their interactive role on improving innovation ambidexterity.     

Developing exploitative and exploratory capabilities through capitalising on alliance orientation

ABSTRACT

Researchers suggest that firms should acquire resources from external environments by adopting alliances to enhance their abilities in developing their core value-creating capabilities. However, the question of how to manage alliances effectively through organisational development in exploitation and exploration capabilities has not yet been examined in detail. Using primary data obtained from 159 R&D managers in Taiwan's electronics industry, this study focuses on the specific mechanisms of alliance orientation (AO) and examines its impact on the development of exploitative and exploratory capabilities. We find that AO enables firms to improve their exploitative and exploratory capabilities. Furthermore, unabsorbed slack resources strengthen the positive effects of AO on exploratory capabilities, while market uncertainty weakens the benefits of AO in both exploitative and exploratory capabilities. The positive effects of AO on exploratory capabilities are also weakened by technological uncertainty. These findings provide strategic insight into strategic alliances and the capability development of firms.     

As times goes by. A dynamic impact assessment of the innovation policy and the Matthew effect on Argentinean firms

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of public funds for innovation on firm’s capabilities, innovative dynamics and economic performance. A large stream of literature about the evaluation of public funds is focused on testing the existence of additionality effects on investments and results. This paper aims to provide evidence about other dimensions of the firm that public policy can alter, with focus on the time window between the treatment and the impact, and the role of the Matthew effect (recurrence) in this process. The empirical exercise is based on a dynamic panel data made of 1465 firms (3337 observations) that applied to the Argentinean Technological Fund (FONTAR), which is the main public fund for innovation in Argentina, between 2007 and 2016. Results show short-term effects of accessing to FONTAR on firms’ capabilities, medium-term effects on innovation efforts and long-term effects on productivity. Even though the effect on productivity is larger among recurrent firms, the differences among recurrent and non-recurrent firms are not conclusive in case of capabilities and innovation efforts. All in all, this research provides evidence about the ‘when’ of public policy and the need to look beyond input additionality effects when analysing its impact.     

Do funding sources matter?: The impact of university-industry collaboration funding sources on innovation performance of universities

ABSTRACT

The nature of funding sources for university-industry collaboration (UIC) has gradually changed, which may motivate universities to pursue different goals. Therefore, a question arises concerning whether and how funding sources influence the innovation performance of universities. This study explicates this relationship by using organisational control theory. Results of structural equation modelling using partial least squares based on a sample of 146 Taiwanese universities revealed that both governmental and industrial funding facilitated UIC management mechanisms and regulation implementation, which subsequently influenced the innovation performance of universities. Moreover, governmental funding has a greater impact on implementing UIC regulations and industrial funding has a greater impact on building UIC management mechanisms. The results also revealed that only industrial funding exerts a positive influence on the innovation climate of a university. Policy implications are discussed at the end of this paper.     

Beyond product innovation: deciphering process-oriented innovators,complementarities and performance effects

Relatively little attention has been paid to the understanding of process innovation, compared to the well-researched product innovation. This paper contributes to improve our understanding of process innovation and its specific process capabilities and performance by exploring, across many industries, 4,608 process-oriented innovators. Process innovation is defined as adoption of technologically new or significantly improved production methods, including changes in equipment, organisation or methods of product delivery. Process-oriented innovators or process seekers are those firms which usually only introduce process innovation, and no product innovation. These have received less attention by scholars. Results show that process innovation without also organisational innovation complements constrains innovative performance. Complex process-based innovation complementarities result from the simultaneous development and integration of new machinery and organisational innovations.     

知识结构、环境波动对突破式创新的影响

基于资源基础理论和动态能力理论，研究企业知识结构、环境波动和知识动态能力对突破式创新的交互作用机制。通过实证调研，采用结构方程模型与层级回归分析方法进行分析，结果表明：元素知识和架构知识均对企业突破式创新产生正向影响；知识动态能力在知识结构与突破式创新的关系中起中介作用；环境波动与突破式创新呈倒U形关系，并负向调节知识结构与突破式创新的关系。研究结果拓展了知识与突破式创新的关系，可为企业优化知识管理以促进创新活动提供理论参考。     

The innovation and economic consequences of knowledge spillovers: fit between exploration and exploitation capabilities,knowledge attributes,and transfer mechanisms

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating roles of the attributes and transfer mechanisms of knowledge in the relationship between organisational capabilities and innovation and economic performance. Regression analysis on a sample of 120 Taiwanese firms was used to test our model. The findings suggest that the organisational capabilities of exploration and exploitation are positively related to innovation and economic performance. The effect of exploration on performance is positively moderated by tacit knowledge and adaptation knowledge transfer mechanisms. In contrast, exploitation is a stronger predictor of performance when organisations acquire well-defined knowledge and use replication knowledge transfer mechanisms.     

On the joint effect of technological and management innovations on performance: increasing or diminishing returns?

Most studies on innovation are aimed at covering technological innovation, neglecting other modes of innovation based on non-technological drivers. The latter, referred to as management innovation, consists of the implementation of new management practices, processes or organisational tasks. This work advances knowledge on the topic by exploring the joint effect of simultaneously introducing technological and management innovations on performance. Based on an analysis of 12,563 Spanish firms drawn from CIS data, our findings suggest that firms frequently pursue the simultaneous or joint introduction of both technological and management innovations and that integration impacts positively on a firm’s performance, evidencing an inverted U-shape that suggest positive but diminishing returns. A theoretical framework using the capability-based view embraces the emerging conversation on management innovation issues and its relationship with the well-researched technological one.     

From information technology to bioinformatics: Evolution of technological capabilities in India

This paper explores a trend in the development of innovation in emerging economies: exaptive technological capabilities. A growing proportion of innovation is originating in emerging economies that, being resource-constrained in a dynamic and uncertain environment, requires leveraging existing capabilities and recombining with new knowledge resources. An evolutionary biology model is applied to a process model whereby initial technological capabilities are renewed by the firm given an external selection event. Using a detailed case study across 6 years, this paper investigates the exaptation process of Information Technology (IT) capabilities into bioinformatics by an Indian IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Findings suggest that just leveraging existing technological capabilities alone is a model set for failure. Such a tactic ignores the environment of the new technology application area. By investing in the needed complementary resources, TCS corrected its initial path to open source their software and offer consulting services on how to utilize the software and, thus, create intellectual property. These insights are valuable not only for the innovation management of traditional IT services to life sciences, but more broadly for firms in emerging economies that hope to renew and build exaptive technological capabilities to enter unforeseen new application areas by leveraging existing technological capabilities.     

高管团队认知交互与创新绩效的关系：有调节的中介效应检验

在高度不确定的外部环境下,提高创新能力成为高技术企业增强竞争力的重要战略方向。既有关于不同认知层面与行为或绩效关系的研究,忽视了对动态环境下团队认知交互作用机制的思考。从认知视角出发,探讨了动态能力在高管团队认知交互与创新绩效间的中介作用、动态环境对动态能力与创新绩效关系的调节作用,以及动态环境对上述中介作用的调节效应。以长三角地区335家IT企业为研究样本,研究发现：①高管团队认知交互与创新绩效有正相关关系;②动态能力在高管团队认知交互与创新绩效之间具有中介作用;③环境动态性对动态能力与创新绩效的关系有正向调节作用;④环境动态性强化了上述中介作用。     

协同创新团队交易型领导力与动态能力关系实证研究：调节定向的中介作用

领导力对创新能力的作用机制受到学术界的广泛关注，但是关于交易型领导力的研究很少，实证研究更加缺乏。基于此，研究了协同创新背景下交易型领导力对动态能力的作用机制，并且引入促进定向的中介作用，提升了模型解释力。通过结构化问卷获得301份来自高技术产学研协同创新团队的数据，采用统计分析方法进行假设检验。研究结果表明，权变奖励与感知、掌握能力呈显著正相关关系，例外管理与重构能力呈显著正相关关系，促进定向与预防定向在上述关系中分别起中介作用。该项研究验证了交易型领导力对动态能力的差异化影响，进一步丰富了战略领导理论与动态能力理论，有助于产学研协同创新管理实践。     

Research into ambidextrous R&D in product development – new product development at a precision device maker: a case study

Through research into new product development processes at a precision device maker, this paper discusses the skilful management of knowledge boundaries that lie between various organisations, and between specialised human skills and functions that make up a project organisation, and presents the ways in which new organisational capabilities are brought about for the development of new products as exploratory activities that dynamically merge and integrated the various knowledge within a company. This paper describes some of the implications derived from analysis and observations of the new organisational forms of the company's ambidextrous R&D management which the company uses to engage in both ‘uncertainty management (exploration)’ and ‘existing product management (exploitation)’, through the partnering of its existing formal organisations and dynamic structuring of diverse multifunctional teams formed as projects spanning different specialisations and capabilities.     

Low-cost innovation and technology-driven innovation in China’s machinery industry

ABSTRACT

The political concept of indigenous innovation in China sets out a guiding principle for the country’s major transformation towards becoming an innovation nation. However, firms’ innovation strategies and capabilities in middle-income countries are usually heterogeneous, making a uniform response to this concept at the company level highly unlikely. The paper’s empirical contribution is based on analysing survey data on technologically advanced machinery firms in China. It uses a multinomial model approach to establish which drivers of innovation go hand-in-hand with the different innovation strategies. This paper identifies different innovation strategies and forms of innovation that co-emerge as part of this transformation, leading to four firm groups: low-cost producers, technology-oriented producers, user-oriented innovators and technology-oriented innovators. It thus contributes to a more differentiated view of the effects of China’s innovation-focused transformation. We find that R&D investments, governmental R&D support and scientific collaborations are key factors to distinguish between the above-mentioned groups.     

Quality-oriented growth: a new trend for Chinese firms

ABSTRACT

Based on data from the China Employer-Employee Survey (CEES), this study analyses the actual effect of quality-driven growth on firms’ performances in the economic transition of recent years. The results show positive and significant effects between the firms’ performance and quality-oriented growth, which is defined as a strategy that supports the spirit of greater entrepreneurial innovation, the advancement of input quality, and corporate governance improvement. Using a quality-driven growth mode, firms can effectively relieve the adverse effect of downward macroeconomic growth pressure on performance. This study proposes that China’s macroeconomic policy should shift from demand-oriented management to supply-oriented management, with a particular focus on quality development strategy. Moreover, firms should establish a quality-driven development strategy, facilitating a spirit of entrepreneurial innovation, advancing input quality, and improving corporate governance. This strategy will increase the firm’s performance, and effectively relieve the macroeconomic downward pressure.

Abbreviations: CEES: China Employer-Employee Survey, TFP: Total factor productivity     

数字经济时代下联盟管理能力对企业颠覆性技术创新的影响——知识流动的中介作用与知识重构能力的调节作用

随着5G网络、人工智能等新科技的推广，数字经济时代已经到来。然而，在数字经济时代下，工业企业要在新一轮科技革命中抢占先机，必须组建联盟关系推动颠覆性技术创新。基于创新联盟理论，构建联盟管理能力与企业颠覆性技术创新研究框架，通过对451份有效问卷数据的实证研究发现：①联盟管理能力对企业颠覆性技术创新有显著正向影响；②知识流动在联盟管理能力与企业颠覆性技术创新的关系中起部分中介作用；③知识重构能力调节联盟管理能力与知识流动和颠覆性技术创新之间的正相关关系。     

Top management team boundary-spanning behaviour,bricolage, and business model innovation

ABSTRACT

Resources are basic element of business model innovation, but most enterprises face serious resource constraints due to their capability limitations. This study focuses on boundary-spanning behaviour of top management team and bricolage, to explore their influence mechanism on business model innovation. A hierarchical regression analysis is carried out on data from China. Responses from 163 enterprises indicate that top management team boundary-spanning behaviour has a significantly positive influence on business model innovation, that bricolage has a significantly positive effect on business model innovation, and that bricolage plays a significant intermediary role between top management team boundary-spanning behaviour and business model innovation. This study enriches theoretical and empirical researches on business model innovation while serving as a valuable reference for business practice.     

Information systems and information technologies as enablers of innovation and knowledge creation and sharing in professional service firms

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at exploring what are the factors enabling or threatening IT and IS innovation choices and how these factors interact to shape organisational change in accounting firms. Data have been collected through questionnaires concerning strategies related to IT and IS, to understand whether these strategies may enable innovation and knowledge creation and sharing. Insights are provided from the Italian setting, since its particular features of an ever-changing regulation and high competition. Findings show some additional insights to what stated by the literature, contending that some differences do exist relatively to firms’ size and localisation. In doing so, the paper provides interesting implications concerning IS and IT as enablers of innovation and knowledge sharing in PSFs.     

顺水推舟：动态能力如何驱动企业创新战略演化？——基于西门子（中国）的纵向案例研究

创新战略影响企业创新发展方向及成效,但其在数字化转型过程中的演化路径尚不明朗。本文运用纵向单案例研究方法,以西门子（中国）为研究对象,从动态能力视角解剖数字化转型过程中创新战略的演化路径。研究发现：在数字化转型的探索期、成长期、加速期,企业在不同动态能力的推动下顺势实现创新战略演化。其中,在数字识别能力驱动下,企业创新战略主要表现为利用式创新战略,在数字整合能力驱动下,企业创新战略主要表现为探索式创新战略与利用式创新战略并存,而在数字重构能力驱动下,企业创新战略则主要表现为探索式创新战略。本文通过纵向单案例研究,揭示了动态能力驱动下企业数字化转型的内在过程及创新战略演化路径。本文有望拓展动态能力理论在数字化情境中的应用,并从演化视角深化企业创新战略研究,同时为企业有效运用动态能力以推进数字化转型,以及创新战略制定提供理论支撑与路径指引。