A Resource-based View of Innovativeness in Small Firms

The resource-based view is presented here as the theoretical framework for empirical research on the determinants of technological innovativeness in small firms. These determinants include the characteristics of the owner/manager (O/M) and the firm and some technological assets (resources and capabilities). Evidence based on case studies is used for the evaluation of their effect on innovativeness and their interaction. The study highlights the key role of the O/M and the importance of some of his/her characteristics. It also shows the impact of certain resources and capabilities. The O/M emerges as the orchestrator of resource accumulation and capability development in the innovative firms.     

Innovation strategy of local pharmaceutical firms in Korea: a multivariate analysis

This article examines 37 local pharamaceutical firms in Korea to identify different patterns of innovation behaviour associated with four types of firms, which are categorized by two variables: the scale of operation and technological capability. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses support the hypotheses that these four types of firms exhibit different innovation strategies and in turn the level of performance they achieved. Specifically, large firms with high technological capability diversify their efforts, investing in their own R & D and tapping foreign capabilities, and as a result exhibit the highest degree of innovativeness, while large firms with low technological capability resort primarily to the transfer of foreign technology for short-term profitability. In contrast, small firms with high technological capability rely mainly on their own R & D efforts with the assistance from local R & D institutes and enjoy the highest growth rate, whereas small firms with low technological capability imitate technologically low-grade products by hiring experienced technical personnel from other firms. There are also fragmented indications that many local firms have long evolved from small firms with low capability to large firms with high capability. Finally, managerial and theoretical implications for the innovation strategies in LDCs/NICsE are discussed.     

The Transfer of Resources and Competencies for Developing Technological Capabilities - The Case of Fujitsu-ICL

In the management literature and the literature on technology transfer, it is widely acknowledged that learning in general, and the leveraging of knowledge throughout firms in particular, is important. However, there appears little systematic evidence of what technology and knowledge is transferred between organizations and how this occurs. The literature also tends to neglect how firms use such technology/knowledge transfer to cultivate appropriate technological capabilities. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by examining the successful exchange of resources and competencies between Fujitsu and ICL, and how it helped to extend the technological capabilities of both firms. It traces the evolution of the relationship from that of a loose technology-sharing agreement to that of sustained project collaboration and partnership. This relationship proved to be enduring, and provides a road map for firms engaged in technology/knowledge transfer to develop their indigenous technological capabilities.     

Innovation strategy of local pharmaceutical firms in Korea: a multivariate analysis

This article examines 37 local pharamaceutical firms in Korea to identify different patterns of innovation behaviour associated with four types of firms, which are categorized by two variables: the scale of operation and technological capability. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses support the hypotheses that these four types of firms exhibit different innovation strategies and in turn the level of performance they achieved. Specifically, large firms with high technological capability diversify their efforts, investing in their own R & D and tapping foreign capabilities, and as a result exhibit the highest degree of innovativeness, while large firms with low technological capability resort primarily to the transfer of foreign technology for short-term profitability. In contrast, small firms with high technological capability rely mainly on their own R & D efforts with the assistance from local R & D institutes and enjoy the highest growth rate, whereas small firms with low technological capability imitate technologically low-grade products by hiring experienced technical personnel from other firms. There are also fragmented indications that many local firms have long evolved from small firms with low capability to large firms with high capability. Finally, managerial and theoretical implications for the innovation strategies in LDCs/NICsE are discussed.     

Firm innovativeness and work-life balance

Assessing firms’ innovativeness is not an easy task. The literature recognises a number of innovativeness indicators. Most of them are technology-based indicators which perform well in high-tech industries but might be ineffective in other industries where patenting is not usual or in which R&D budgets are low or not formalised. In this paper, we critically review previous innovativeness indicators and we propose a new approach to assess firm innovativeness that is based not on the role of technology but on that of people. This new approach focuses on the existence of work-life balance benefits that are connected with motivation, engagement and creativity in the workplace. We argue that this could be an effective complementary means to assess the innovativeness of firms. It could be combined with previously used indicators and might have considerable advantages such as their suitability for application in any kind of firm regardless of its technological profile.     

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.     

A pattern of enhancing innovative knowledge capabilities: Case study of a Chinese telecom manufacturer

During the 1990s Chinese telecommunication (telecom) manufacturing firms attempted to enhance their innovative knowledge capabilities by concentrating efforts on technological importation and assimilation. In order to improve indigenous technological innovation capability, Chinese firms enhanced their capabilities by accumulating and reactivating firm-specific knowledge. This paper attempts to explore the growth trajectory of some Chinese telecom firms' technological capabilities. Often the catching-up of a firm's technological capability is a trade-off process between the frequent accumulation of technical knowledge and the infrequent leapfrogging of the comprehensive technological capability. To explain the catching-up trajectory of technological evolution the Chinese telecom manufacturing sector was selected. A conceptual framework of the catching-up of technological capabilities is proposed. The framework and the implicit logic of technological catching-up are analyzed through a theoretical lens. A detailed empirical study of a Chinese telecom manufacturer is then presented to validate the capability catching-up pattern.     

Technological Innovativeness and Firm Performance in Slovenia and Romania

This study contributes to a better understanding of performance induced by technological innovativeness by developing and testing a model. The model clarifies the nature of the influence of technological innovativeness and its organisational and inter-organisational antecedents (organisational support for innovativeness and technological alliances) on firm growth, profitability and wealth creation. Survey data were collected from firms in two countries: Slovenia and Romania; structural equation modelling was employed to test the model and the hypothesised relationships. Support for most of the model hypotheses was found. Among the control elements in the model, country, industry technological opportunities and firm age were found to be the most influential.     

Technology acquisition models for fast followers in high-technological markets: an empirical analysis of the LED industry

The rapid rate of technology obsolescence in many high-technology markets makes it imperative for firms to renew their technological bases constantly. Given its critical importance, the technology acquisition from the fast followers’ perspective needs to be the subject of careful analysis. This paper aims to identify the factors influencing fast-follower firms’ choice of technology acquisition model, using a multi-factorial analysis and taking into account their technological capabilities, marketing capabilities, and environmental risk tradeoffs. This study sourced data from the Securities Data Company (SDC) Platinum Database for a total of 205 instances of technological cooperation between technology holders and fast followers in the LED industry. Based on the empirical results, some significant findings were found. First, regarding technological capabilities, when fast-follower firms had greater R&D, complementary manufacturing capabilities, and technological similarities with the partners, they preferred the acquisition model that required higher resource commitments. Secondly, when fast followers had marketing channel advantages, they were more likely to choose a high resource-commitment acquisition model to obtain time-to-market benefits.     

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.     

Innovative Assets And Inter-Asset Linkages—A Resource-Based Approach To Innovation

The paper proposes a framework for analyzing assets and inter-asset linkages associated with technological innovation. The framework is consistent with a Penrosian view of the firm and draws on recent contributions from both the more general resource-based perspective and the innovation and technology perspective of the firm.

Three broad categories of firm assets are distinguished: tradeable resources, technical/functional capabilities and managerial competences. Assets for technological innovation are defined as resources, technical capabilities and managerial competences for developing new products and processes. A taxonomy of generic innovative assets is proposed that distinguishes four generic categories of innovative assets: Scientific research assets, process innovative assets, product innovative application assets and aesthetic design assets. Critical inter-asset linkages are analyzed in terms of inter-asset specificity. It is argued that high degrees of inter-asset specificity provide greater scope for innovation and make higher demands on the innovative assets and their coordination than low degrees of inter-asset specificity. It is moreover suggested that complementary assets not only play the role of assuring proper commercialization of given innovations; they may also play a critical role as a ‘focusing device’ for directing the innovative process.

Finally, some implications for strategy in innovative firms are indicated. Thus, the proposed inter-asset framework may help to specify the notion of core competences and provide a more differentiated perspective on innovation strategy and first-mover advantages.     

Technology roadmapping in review: A tool for making sustainable new product development decisions

Typically, firms decide whether or not to develop a new product based on their resources, capabilities and the return on investment that the product is estimated to generate. We propose that firms adopt a broader heuristic for making new product development choices. Our heuristic approach requires moving beyond traditional finance-based thinking, and suggests that firms concentrate on technological trajectories by combining technology roadmapping, information technology (IT) and supply chain management to make more sustainable new product development decisions. Using the proposed holistic heuristic methods, versus relying on traditional finance-based decision-making tools (e.g., emphasizing net present value or internal rate of return projections), enables firms to plan beyond the short-term and immediate set of technologies at hand. Our proposed heuristic approach enables firms to forecast technologies and markets, and hence, new product priorities in the longer term. Investments in new products should, as a result, generate returns over a longer period than traditionally expected, giving firms more sustainable investments. New products are costly and need to have a durable presence in the market. Transaction costs and resources will be saved, as firms make new product development decisions less frequently.     

When is betweenness centrality useful to firms pursuing technological diversity? An internal-resources view

This study examines situations in which betweenness centrality (BC) is useful for firms pursuing technological diversity. Given the role of BC in firms’ access to external technological knowledge, the study explores the extent to which R&D and manufacturing resources, technological strength, and financial slack moderate the relationship between BC and technological diversity. The results show that BC alone does not exert a positive effect on technological diversity. Furthermore, R&D resources, technological strength, and financial slack each positively moderate the relationship between BC and technological diversity, whereas manufacturing resources do not. Identifying the influential moderators of internal resources should enable firms to harness the benefits of BC. Thus, firms should possess such internal resources to further their technological diversity through BC.     

产品创新性与创新绩效关系研究

在对已有理论基础和实证研究结果进行回顾与辨析的基础上，从企业视角出发，提出产品创新性与创新绩效间关系理论模型及相应研究命题。首先，细化两个构念维度，将产品创新性划分为市场、技术、组织和环境新颖性4个维度，将创新绩效划分为市场绩效和运营绩效两个方面，其中运营绩效包含创新速度、费用和质量。其次，对文献中已有实证研究结果进行剖析和对比，构建产品创新性与创新绩效间关系理论模型。最后，对产品创新性维度进行分解，对创新绩效进行剖析，可为理论发展和科学决策提供依据及启示。     

Influence of open innovation strategies on employment dynamics: evidence for Spanish manufacturing firms

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the influence of different modes of openness of innovative firms on employment growth. Using a panel database of Spanish manufacturing firms during the period 1998–2015, we analyze the influence open innovation (OI) strategies on employment distinguishing by type of external partner. The main objective of the research is to know whether opening innovation strategy contributes to employment taken into account another firm capabilities and sectorial technological opportunities. For this purpose, a two-step procedure is specified. Firstly, a random-effect computes the effects of OI on the innovation probability. In the second step, the variation of innovativeness due to openness on GMM-system estimation controlling by potential endogeneity and unobserved firm heterogeneity is used. The results support that the influence of open strategy on employment growth is positive. Moreover, the employment depends on the breadth of OI measured by the number of out-inbound relationships. Finally, the employment consequences are different for each mode of open strategy.     

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.     

How Much do Technological Gap,Firm Size,and Regional Characteristics Matter for the Absorptive Capacity of Italian Enterprises?

The absorptive capacity—the ability of enterprises to efficiently absorb and internalise knowledge from outside sources—represents the link between firms’ capabilities to implement new products and the external stock of technological opportunities, such as those gleamed from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). This paper explores whether the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the productivity of Italian domestically-owned firms (DOFs) is dependent on their absorptive capacity. In particular, given the peculiar characteristics of the Italian productive system, our analysis focuses on three different dimensions of the absorptive capacity: the size of the technological gap between foreign-owned firms (FOFs) and DOFs, firm size, and the regional distribution of firms. Our findings suggest that technological gap and firm size matter considerably for the spillover effect. Moreover, spillovers exhibit a sub-national dimension present only in the northeastern region of the peninsula.     

Firms' decisions to innovate and innovation routines

This article investigates the forces that lead some firms to engage in more innovative activities than others using a survey of 360 large Australian firms. Many earlier studies on the determinants of innovation followed the Schumpeterian tradition, and focused on size and market structure as possible causes of innovativeness; however, with the event of new qualitative measures of industry knowledge and managerial styles, these factors have been found to be less important. The results of the present study show that external factors and generic routines common to all industries, such as the extent of learning, knowledge spillovers, appropriability and managerial approach are more important than industry specific forces. Locally-owned companies were also found to be more innovative, other things considered.     

高新技术企业融资方式、治理结构与技术创新能力关系研究

高新技术产业的发展对全球经济产生了重要的推动作用,但对于高新技术企业而言,制约其发展的一个重要障碍就是融资问题。风险投资是一种特殊的投资形式,与传统的债务融资对比,风险投资不仅为企业提供必要资金,还会参与企业的内部管理,对企业的治理结构产生影响,进而影响企业的技术创新能力。     

Some Determinants of Core Competencies: Evidence from a Binary-Logit Analysis

Despite the increasing recognition of the salience of core competencies in the process of competition, the notion of core competencies has remained largely ambiguous in the literature. Neither is it clear what strategies, institutions, and resources are necessary for developing and sustaining core competencies. This paper uses the binary-logit model to explore the determinants of core competencies, and identifies investment in intangible assets, marketing/promotional activities and firm size as significant determinants of core competencies. An evaluation of the technology strategies of two competence-seeking firms also points to the increasing salience of intangible assets, decentralization/globalization of the R&D function, and the intensive search for knowledge and capabilities.