Collaborative ties and ambidextrous innovation: insights from internal and external knowledge acquisition

ABSTRACT

Building collaborative ties has become an increasingly important strategy for influencing firms’ ambidextrous innovation in transition economies, we examine the relationship between collaborative ties and ambidextrous innovation—with a focus on the mediating effect of knowledge acquisition using firm-level data in China. The empirical results reveal several important findings. First, collaborative ties among partners have a positive effect on firms’ ambidextrous innovation. Second, collaborative ties among partners are more beneficial to the firm’s external knowledge acquisition than internal knowledge acquisition. Lastly, the mediating effect of internal knowledge acquisition on the relationship between collaborative ties and ambidextrous innovation of firms is higher than that of external knowledge acquisition. These findings contribute to the literature on ambidexterity theory. Moreover, these findings also extend our understanding of the importance of the integration of internal and external knowledge acquisition in collaborative relationships, and enrich knowledge management literature within the collaborative ties framework.     

Open innovation in Russian state-owned enterprises

ABSTRACT

This paper studies open innovation practices in Russian state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In 2011, the Russian Government set ambitious goals in science, technology and innovation, and uses its large SOEs as channels to achieve these targets. These initiatives focus on the collaboration among innovation actors and introduce open innovation (OI) principles. Based on a large-scale innovation survey, we compare private enterprises to state-owned peers and present selected case studies. Our data support the claim that Russian SOEs are driving the demand for technology and mainly absorb incoming OI activities. Different to their peers, SOEs extend their OI activities to the country’s knowledge producers, such as research and technology organisations (RTOs), and leading universities. They work on incorporating scientific knowledge that could, indeed, hold the key to globally competitive technological innovations, but also have better capabilities to include business partners.

Abbreviation : OI: Open innovation; SOE: State-owned enterprise; RTO: Research and technology organisation; STI: Science, technology and innovation.     

Age-Related Differences in the Motivation of Knowledge Workers

Abstract:

With the impending retirement of the Baby Boom Generation, retention of older knowledge workers, defined as engineers, scientists, and information technologists, has become important to engineering managers. Traditional theories of worker motivation have not adequately addressed the impact of worker age on factors that affect worker motivation. The study outlined in this article gathered data regarding the satisfaction and importance of motivational factors to determine if there are differences in their impact on older and younger knowledge workers.     

Does size still matter? How micro firms and SMEs vary in network learning

ABSTRACT

How can geographically constrained Micro firms and SMEs in emerging markets upgrade their products? How might firm size affect the benefits from accessing diverse knowledge and from participating in different learning relationships? Although access to diverse knowledge can be vital to innovation, smaller firms have a limited understanding about which new knowledge is most relevant to their context and how they may convert their capabilities into a more innovative organization. These latter aspects, we argue, come largely from relationships embedded in interfirm networks and certain types of non-market institutions that act as knowledge bridges and provide tutelage. Such institutions appear to benefit Micro firms in processing diverse knowledge. In contrast, product upgrading for SMEs improves more from their inter-firm networks, but these networks do not aid with managing diverse knowledge. We argue that differences in complementary capacities explain these variations. We use unique survey data from the Argentine wine industry.     

International collaboration and innovation in professional and technological knowledge-intensive services

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the impact of international collaboration on innovation in technological and professional knowledge-intensive business services. We propose that the benefits of international collaboration differ depending on the activity sector and the location of the foreign partner. Specifically, we argue that the nature of knowledge and innovation processes in professional and technological knowledge-intensive business services may explain different effects of international collaboration on innovation performance. Our empirical analysis is based on a large sample of knowledge-intensive business services for the period 2004–2007. We specify two bivariate probit models to test our hypotheses. The results confirm the hypotheses and show that proximity to international partners is more important for professional knowledge-intensive services, while diversity in international collaboration is more important for technological knowledge-intensive services.     

In the vanguard of openness: which dynamic capabilities are essential for innovative KIBS firms to develop?

Abstract

In this paper, we examine whether the innovativeness of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) firms is affected by their inherently high rate of interactions with clients and partners. Even if such firms do not deliberately follow an open innovation strategy, they are exposed to knowledge flows from other organisations. A particularly interesting issue is the connection between openness and the need to develop dynamic capabilities for distinct phases of knowledge processing. Building on resource-based views, we have developed hypotheses on the respective importance of KIBS firms’ dynamic capabilities and their inclination to engage in open innovation. Since clients and partners can contribute to activities especially at the beginning and end of the innovation value chain, KIBS should consider focusing on developing a ‘conceptualizing’ capability for translating raw ideas into marketable service propositions. The importance of this capability is confirmed by our regression analyses on survey data from 125 KIBS in the Netherlands. By contributing to the literature on KIBS and open innovation, we shed light on strategically balancing capability development and external capability sourcing.     

A Dynamic Comparative Analysis of International Innovation Networks in Emerging Market MNCs

This paper compares the international innovation strategies of emerging market MNCs (EMNCs) with those of developed country MNCs (DMNCs). More specifically, we analyze the patent outcomes related to the use of international innovation networks (IINs) of EMNCs in developed markets compared with those of DMNCs in emerging markets. We explore the convergence and volatility patterns in patent generation within these IINs, considering the use of overseas R&D affiliates and the outcomes of interactions between foreign R&D affiliates and home headquarters for generating patents over a 20-year period. Our findings are broadly supportive of the idea that the trends in the volume and volatility of patents generated from the underlying IINs used by EMNCs are converging with those of DMNCs. This is in line with the predictions of a number of current international business theories regarding EMNC international expansion.     

The function of ability,benevolence, and integrity-based trust in innovation networks

ABSTRACT

This study contributes to the understanding of how trust based on perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity functions in networks. It adopts a mixed-method approach with quantitative and qualitative data from five Norwegian innovation networks. The study demonstrates how trust based on perceived benevolence, ability, and integrity influences different aspects of network interaction and network outcomes against the background of the network members’ perceptions of risk. Moreover, it finds that these dimensions of trust function differently at the inter-organisational and at the network level. The former level here concerns trust between the organisations in the network, while the latter concerns trust in the network more generally. Benevolence-based trust is identified as particularly salient at both levels for promoting open and honest communication as well as knowledge sharing, enabling both more successful collaboration in general, and more innovation specifically.     

Knowledge context,learning and innovation: an integrating framework

Abstract

In this conceptual paper, we develop a framework which identifies those elements of firms’ knowledge context which are important for innovation, and the mechanisms through which that knowledge impacts on firms’ innovation performance. We make four main contributions to the existing literature. First, our characterisation of knowledge context provides the basis for a more specific identification of which elements of firms’ knowledge environment are important for innovation, discriminating between spatial, sectoral and network influences. Second, we reflect the role of innovation ambition in shaping firms’ knowledge search strategies. Third, we differentiate between firms’ interactive and non-interactive knowledge search activities and recognise that these may be complemented by unanticipated and serendipitous knowledge spillovers. Finally, we employ the notion of encoding capacity to reflect firms’ internal ability to assimilate and apply external knowledge, and clarify its distinctiveness from the more general concept of absorptive capacity. Our framework provides an integrating mechanism for existing empirical studies, and suggests a number of new research directions related to the determinants of innovation performance and the heterogeneity of innovation outcomes.     

Winning combinations: search strategies and innovativeness in the UK

Searching for the most rewarding sources of innovative ideas remains a key challenge in management of technological innovation. Yet, little is known about which combinations of internal and external knowledge sources are triggers for innovation. Extending theories about searching for innovation, we examine the effectiveness of different combinations of knowledge sources for achieving innovative performance. We suggest that combinations involving integrative search strategies – combining internal and external knowledge – are the most likely to generate product and process innovation. In this context, we present the idea that cognitively distant knowledge sources are helpful for innovation only when used in conjunction with knowledge sources that are closer to the focal firm. We also find important differences between product and process innovation, with the former associated with broader searches than the latter. Using a large-scale pooled sample of UK firms, we find overall support for our conjectures, particularly in terms of product innovation.     

Exploring the impact of organisational,technological and relational contingencies on innovation speed in the light of open innovation

ABSTRACT

Striving for competitive advantage pushes firms to innovate at a high speed along innovation contingencies and resource limitations they face. Yet, little is known about how management of contingencies such as absorptive capacity or technology radicalness can impact the innovation speed of firms. In this explorative study, we provide new empirical evidence to the innovation speed literature. We examine to what extent innovation speed is affected by organisational, technological, and relational contingencies that preoccupy firms with open innovation practices. Taking the firm perspective, we track innovation timeline and emphasise the complex trade-offs that firms encounter while innovating. Our results show that many of the contingencies, emphasised by the literature promoting innovation, could slow down its speed. Thus, strengthening competitiveness by accommodating contingencies can hinder time-critical adaptations. Furthermore, we find that innovation assets and capabilities can become liabilities for technologically innovative firms.     

Innovation dimensions and firm performance synergy in the emerging market: A perspective from Dynamic Capability Theory & Signaling Theory

ContextIn this rapidly changing business environment, innovation is the key requirement to gain a sustained advantage over competitors. Innovation helps firms grow more quickly than others grow, survive in the harsh & highly competitive business environment, and eventually become a market leader.PurposeIndia is an emerging market, and many companies are entering here and making it highly competitive. The limited study is available to measure the effect of innovation in Indian Business. Thus, the study establishes a relationship between innovation and firm performance in the Indian setting.Design/methodology/approachThis is a perception-based study and used established subjective scales to measure innovation and firm performance. I validated the scale using the measurement model in AMOS. The survey used to collect around 250 cross-sectional data from middle & higher management executives of Indian firms. Structural equation modeling in AMOS was used to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe results showed that product and marketing innovation has a significant and positive impact on the dimensions of firm performance. In contrast, Process innovation showed an indirect effect mediated through marketing innovation. These outcomes will be beneficial for the industries for taking proactive measures.Originality/valueThe examination of mediation relationships between Marketing innovation and Product & Process innovation is limited. Novelty also lies in analyzing the impact of multiple innovation types on multiple dimensions of firm performance in Indian firms to verify dynamic capability and mediating effect of marketing innovation in Indian demography to validate the signaling theory perspective. Rigor in research methods like Scale and sampling method verification test, i.e., CMB. Heteroscedasticity and Endogeneity test for applicability of OLS and verifying exogenous variables.     

Collaborative Public Space in a National Innovation System: A Case Study of the Israeli Military's Impact on the Software Industry

Both systems of innovation and cluster theories emphasize the importance of institutions that facilitate learning and information diffusion as well as community building for the continuous success of industrial systems. Nevertheless, they fail to combine their insights into a general system-level understanding. In order to fill this gap the concept of collaborative public space (CPS) is defined. It is then used to analyze the Israeli military's role within the Israeli IT industry, employing the case study method to analyze a specific section of the military—MAMRAM—the main programming, software engineering, and computer users training unit. The paper's main findings are that, contrary to the commonly argued view, which sees the military mainly as a supplier of factors of production such as high skilled labor, or technological spin-offs, the military has been playing a critical role in the continuing success of the high-tech industry by providing it with a CPS. The military acts as an important center of information gathering, processing, and dissemination for the Israeli software innovation system, as the originator and strengthener of many social networks, and as the connecting node between various weakly tied social networks.     

Quintuple helix structure of Sino-Korean research collaboration in science

The Triple Helix Model has been used for science-mapping in research collaboration since the 1980s. As knowledge-producing activities have rapidly expanded and become interrelated, the triple helix framework is limited in uncovering a broader range of stakeholders and multilateral collaborative activities. In this vein, the present study employs the N-tuple Helix Model as a suitable alternative to analyze the structure of scientific collaboration networks beyond university–industry–government (UIG) relations. The networks of N-tuple Helix relations embedded in Sino-Korean research collaboration are examined in terms of five actors, such as universities, industries, governments, hospitals, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The results found that the quintuple helical network exists in Sino-Korean research collaboration. While traditional UIG actors play a pivotal role, hospital and NGO sectors emerge as new drivers for knowledge production and innovation. Each sector is significantly associated with the others and plays distinctive roles and functions. The overall findings provide new insight into a possible change in the traditional Triple Helix framework by demonstrating an alternative “five-helix model” of innovation as a new evolving structure and new dynamic of international collaboration in science.     

The co-location of innovation and production in clusters

ABSTRACT

This paper quantifies the extent of co-location of innovation and production for industry clusters with varying knowledge intensity. If input-output, knowledge, and skill linkages are interdependent and geographically bounded, then we would expect innovation and production to be co-located in regional clusters. However, theory predicts that the degree of agglomeration benefits associated with co-location may vary across economic activities with different knowledge intensity. Using data from the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project, I develop measures of the co-location of innovation and production for 27 industry clusters, examining patterns across regions and over time (1998–2015) in the United States. I find that there is a significant co-location of innovation and production for many clusters, especially for those with higher knowledge intensity. This paper focuses on the Information Technology and Analytical Instruments cluster and the Automotive cluster to illustrate the co-location measures and the micro-geography of innovation and production.     

A knowledge accumulation approach based on bilayer social wiki network for computer-aided process innovation

Under the fierce competition, manufacturing companies pay more attention to innovation and the knowledge that enables innovation. Manufacturing process innovation is a knowledge-intensive activity, and efficient knowledge accumulation is the prerequisite and basis for computer-aided process innovation (CAPI). Hence, this research aims to build an open knowledge accumulation approach to obtain organised and refined process innovation knowledge (PIK). By considering the similarity of PIK network with biological neural network and combining the technical characteristics of social network with wiki, a novel PIK accumulation schema based on bilayer social wiki network is proposed. In social wiki network environment, PIK is accumulated in public knowledge space through participants’ social interactions and knowledge activities. The process of knowledge fusion is investigated to form the preliminary knowledge containing collective intelligence, and the mechanisms of collaborative editing and collaborative evolution are studied to refine the knowledge. The outcomes of this study lay the foundation for knowledge application of CAPI. Finally, a case study is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach.     

Patent collaboration networks in Sweden and Spain during the Second Industrial Revolution

ABSTRACT

This article aims to analyse and compare the patent collaboration networks of Spain and Sweden during the Second Industrial Revolution, a key period for technological and industrial development in several economies and the distinct development paths taken by these two countries. The data used are from two new historical patent datasets for Spain and Sweden for the period 1878–1914. To study the structure of collaboration networks in both countries, we applied social network analysis methods and focused on two specific key network properties: connectivity and openness to external nodes. The results demonstrate that collaboration networks were better connected and more open to foreign influence in Sweden than in Spain. This research opens new paths for further multidisciplinary studies both on the evolution of industrial economies and on innovation networks dynamics.     

Reverse innovation,international patenting and economic inertia: Constraints to appropriating the benefits of technological innovation

In this paper we compare the role of outward-bound international patenting in “reverse innovation” and in conventional international modes of innovation. Through analysis of panel data from 148 countries over 18 years we reveal that, while all countries may in principle appropriate economic benefits from endogenous technological innovation by increasing their level of outward-bound international patenting, the ability of a country to do so may be hampered by the pre-existing level of its economy. We classify countries in to four strategic innovation quadrants—Slow Movers, Traders, Inventors and Cosmopolitans—based on the relative change over time in their competitiveness in international patenting and their per capita wealth. The mix of wealthy countries and less wealthy countries varies greatly between quadrants, with the wealthy countries dominating the Cosmopolitans quadrant and the less wealthy countries dominating the Slow Movers quadrant. We conclude that, for lower income countries to improve their success in appropriating the benefits of reverse innovation, innovators and would-be innovators based in those countries need to develop sophistication and prowess in international patenting strategy and intellectual property management tailored to the unique conditions of each country.     

The Triple Helix as a model to analyze Israeli Magnet Program and lessons for late-developing countries like Turkey

Although the systemic changes towards innovation networking between university-industry and governmental actors have recently found a place on the international policy and literature agenda, networking between the organizations and people - for the national survival, production and growth - has been deeply rooted in the Israeli system even before the establishment of the Israeli State in 1948. Internal and international constraints fostered the formation of personal links, as did institutional settings that promoted networking. This paper reviews the interaction of societal, organizational and cultural features that render innovation networks in Israel successful. The research focuses on the impacts of the Israeli Magnet Program on the Israeli R&D growth and performance. The implications of innovation networks for a late-developing country like Turkey are reviewed in the contexts of catching-up and cross-regional collaboration between the Israeli and Turkish industries and academies.