Abstract
AbstractOver the past 20 years, a debate has developed on the differences between innovation and imitation strategies as mechanisms by which businesses operating in the Asia Pacific region may gain a competitive advantage. The current research contributes to this debate from a different perspective by exploring some of the challenges and opportunities associated with the combination of both strategies into what has been defined as imovation. Imovators and imovations do not stand alone in business ecosystems. Rather, they should be embraced in the context of sustainability-related virtues and emerging capabilities, such as ethical behaviour, co-responsibility and positive social impact. Taking dynamic capabilities as a theoretical lens, this paper conducts an empirical investigation of responsible imovation in a sample of 180 enterprises operating in the Asia Pacific market. In particular, this research evaluates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and imovation capabilities using a logistic regression analysis whereby we correlate the three main features of imovation strategies: strategic alliances, strategic decision-making and product innovations. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first study to focus on responsible imovation in the Asia Pacific market from an empirical perspective. The research highlights the key organisational and individual actions with the potential both to preserve existing capabilities and to create and integrate new ones. Our findings highlight the importance of technology adoption for responsible imovation to become more effective and accessible to imovators in the Asia Pacific business ecosystem. We conclude that responsible imovations combined with product-level innovations and core dynamic capabilities pave the way towards more rapid growth and a more sustainable competitive advantage.
Highlights
The evolution and disruptive nature of innovation in firms operating in the Asia Pacific region have been the focus of an increasing volume of research in recent years (Lu et al, 2008; Su et al, 2009; Zhu et al, 2012; Yi et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2019; Zhao et al, 2020)
The research model presented in the study is unique in its integration and highlights the role of responsible imovation in the possibilities of future modes of competition in the Asia Pacific region
As we expected during the research design phase, our work confirms the relationship between dynamic capabilities and imovation capabilities and expands upon previous studies (Krzakiewicz & Cyfert, 2016; Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000; Shenkar, 2010)
Summary
The evolution and disruptive nature of innovation in firms operating in the Asia Pacific region have been the focus of an increasing volume of research in recent years (Lu et al, 2008; Su et al, 2009; Zhu et al, 2012; Yi et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2019; Zhao et al, 2020). Imovators are not focused on their own territory or a local business; rather, they look beyond their market to acquire small firms or firms positioned to fail (Shenkar, 2010) or to gain new technologies or potential capabilities (Shenkar, 2010; Scuotto & Shukla, 2018; Wang & Scuotto, 2012) This topic is gaining attention from scholars who seek to understand the potential of innovation and imitation to generate sustainable outputs for society (Blok, 2018; Pandza & Ellwood, 2013) and a sustainable competitive advantage for firms (Pérez-Luño et al, 2007; Wanasika & Conner, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
