Abstract
The current research on knowledge co-creation mostly starts from the perspective of process, studying the process of knowledge co-creation, but there is very little research on the performance of knowledge co-creation. As the carrier of enterprise knowledge co-creation, the industry-university-research network (IUR network) provides a platform for enterprise knowledge co-creation. The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of the centrality of the IUR network on the performance of corporate knowledge co-creation, and the mediating role of corporate absorptive capacity. Technology companies are knowledge-intensive companies and have more knowledge co-creation behaviors. Therefore, this article selects the top 100 technology companies in China’s electronic information industry from 2015 to 2019 as the research sample, and establishes the IUR network based on their cooperative patent data. Our empirical results show that: (1) in the IUR network, the higher the network centrality, the enterprise may have better knowledge co-creation performance; (2) the centrality of the industry-university-research network has a significant role in promoting absorptive capacity of enterprises; (3) the absorptive capacity of enterprises has a complete intermediary effect between the centrality of the IUR network and the knowledge co-creation of technology-based enterprises. This research uses the IUR network to study the performance of knowledge co-creation, which further enriches the related research fields of knowledge co-creation.
Highlights
In recent years, the rapid growth of Chinese technology-based enterprises such as electronics, information, new materials, and new energy has greatly improved China’s industrial technology level and promoted the development of the entire national economy.Science and technology are the foundations of a country’s prosperity, and innovation is the soul of the nation and the source of power for enterprise development [1]
Network, the higher the network centrality, the enterprise may have better knowledge co-creation performance; (2) the centrality of the industry-university-research network has a significant role in promoting absorptive capacity of enterprises; (3) the absorptive capacity of enterprises has a complete intermediary effect between the centrality of the IUR network and the knowledge co-creation of technology-based enterprises
The regression results show that there is a significant positive correlation between network centrality and corporate knowledge co-creation performance, which is significant at a probability of 10%, which is consistent with the research of Mazzola and Perrone [37]
Summary
The rapid growth of Chinese technology-based enterprises such as electronics, information, new materials, and new energy has greatly improved China’s industrial technology level and promoted the development of the entire national economy. Science and technology are the foundations of a country’s prosperity, and innovation is the soul of the nation and the source of power for enterprise development [1]. For technological enterprises, only continuous innovation can quickly respond to market changes and expand their market position [2]. Due to the limitations of technological inertia and resource constraints, it is difficult for a single individual or organization to independently carry out exploratory innovation activities. Cooperative innovation has become the basic organizational form for enterprises to enhance their exploratory innovation capabilities [3].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
