Effect on the inter-nodes cooperative innovation performance of supply chain from knowledge transfer stickiness (KTS)

Abstract

Knowledge transfer is an important function of inter-nodes cooperative innovation of the supply chain. But there are many difficulties to realize knowledge transfer, which can be named as knowledge transfer stickiness (KTS). The paper divides KTS in cooperative innovation of supply chain as knowledge stickiness, participant stickiness and process stickiness, and divides cooperative innovation performance as knowledge innovation, technology innovation and management innovation performance, and then select knowledge integration as the intermediary variable. The paper examines the effect on cooperative innovation performance from KTS through positive studies based on structural equation model. After data and statistical analysis and a case study of the cooperative innovation between DCT and DFM, the paper indicates that the relationship among KTS, knowledge integration and cooperative innovation performance, and reveals the impact on cooperative innovation performance from KTS. It can be found that knowledge stickiness, participant stickiness both have significant negative impact on knowledge integration, and knowledge integration has significant positive impact on cooperative innovation performance, but the relationship between process stickiness and knowledge integration can not be found, and there is not a positive correlation between knowledge innovation performance and management innovation performance. Meanwhile, it can be found that knowledge integration significantly plays the intermediary role between KTS and cooperative innovation performance. Therefore, nodal enterprises of a supply chain should pay more attentions to decrease KTS systematically and improve the knowledge integration, enhancing the cooperative innovation performance and the competitiveness of supply chain.