Innovation Performance Outcomes Research Articles

How does a parent’s knowledge influence the knowledge bridging of joint ventures?

Previous research has underscored the significance of the equity investment relationship in facilitating knowledge transfers between a joint venture and its parent company. Successful knowledge bridging in joint ventures plays a crucial role in shaping organizational learning and innovation performance outcomes. The empirical evidence on the effectiveness of knowledge transfers, however, presents a mixed picture. Through a rigorous sample selection process, we collect panel data on 366 joint venture-year observations across four industries during an 18-year period to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. In this research, we contend that the ability of joint ventures to act as knowledge bridges depends on the diversity of the parent’s knowledge and the technological similarity between the joint venture and the parent, especially in the context of internal knowledge development. An examination of bridging performance in the relationship between joint ventures and parent companies indicates that both parental knowledge diversity and joint venture – parent technology similarity positively impact the knowledge acquired through the joint venture – parent equity relationship. Furthermore, when the joint venture strongly depends on internal knowledge, the positive relationship among parental knowledge diversity, joint venture – parent technology similarity, and joint venture knowledge bridging becomes more pronounced. Our findings shed light on how the specific features of a parent company contribute to the knowledge learning bridged by a joint venture and underscore the role of equity investments in joint venture firms’ innovation.

Innovation performance and licensing: The effect of the compositional quality of direct and indirect network ties

Our research examines the effect of the compositional quality of firms’ direct and indirect network ties on their innovation performance in a licensing context. It addresses the theoretical and empirical puzzle of why firms that exhibit quite similar patterns in their direct and indirect ties with other firms may nonetheless exhibit heterogeneous innovation performance outcomes. Using licensing and patenting data of firms operating in the semiconductor industry, we find that the compositional quality of both direct and indirect ties, based on their relevant technological characteristics positively affect the innovation performance of firms (licensees). Moreover, combining the compositional quality of direct and indirect ties has a complementary, rather than a substitution effect on firms’ innovation performance.

Configurations of innovation performance in foreign owned subsidiaries: focusing on organizational agility and digitalization

PurposeThe authors investigate conditions that drive innovation performance in foreign-owned subsidiaries. The authors study five variables affecting innovation performance: organizational agility and digital capabilities as the main drivers and competencies and embeddedness in internal and external networks as complementary antecedents of innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on the neo-configurational perspective and apply fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to empirically test survey data from subsidiaries located in the emerging economies of Thailand and Vietnam.FindingsWhile the authors find no single condition on its own determining innovation performance, the authors do find that in concert they form four configurations of high innovation performance. The results indicate that all configurations contain competencies, as well as that subsidiaries should prioritize between internal and external networks to complement agility, digital capabilities, to achieve high innovation performance. The authors also reveal intriguing contextual differences in the innovation performance configurations between the two host countries.Originality/valueBy incorporating causal complexity as well as substitutability and complementarity of innovation drivers, the authors extend the current understanding of subsidiary innovation performance outcomes.

Effect of science in the relation between firms' technological diversification and innovation performance


 
 
 Several studies have analyzed the relationship between the firms’ technological diversification and the innovation performance outcomes. We use information coming from patents portfolio of a sample of firms that operate in a nanotechnology sector and analyze the effect, in this relationship, of the use of scientific knowledge in the development of patented inventions. We find, firstly, that the trend of the quality of innovation with the technological diversification of a firm appears similar to a Gaussian with positive asymmetry. Secondly, we find that with the increase in the percentage of the used science by year, in one side, firms appear to obtain the maximum impact of the innovation, in average, with a less technological diversification in the patent’s portfolio and, in the other side, innovations with more impact are obtained in average.
 
 

The Role of Multidimensional Intellectual Capital and Organizational Learning Practices in Innovation Performance

The purpose of this paper is to explore how managers transform human, renewal, and entrepreneurial capital through specific organizational learning practices into superior innovation performance. We draw implications for managing organizational learning and guiding companies on how to create innovation‐based competitive advantages grounded in the human aspects of intellectual capital. The study is based on a survey of companies located in the transitional economy of Serbia. We found that human, renewal, and entrepreneurial capital all positively affect organizational learning practices. Furthermore, organizational learning practices contribute to innovation performance on their own and in combination with the tested human‐based intellectual capital dimensions. The integration of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) confirms a pattern of equifinality, as there are multiple combinations of static and dynamic conditions leading to superior innovation performance. This paper is among the first attempts to merge the disciplines of intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM) and combine symmetrical and asymmetrical techniques to determine which configurations may yield organizational benefits in terms of innovation performance outcomes.

The role of networks, competencies, and IT advancement in innovation performance of foreign-owned subsidiaries

While networks, competencies, and information technology are key factors to drive innovation performance, they are frequently investigated on a separate basis. Further, their interplay and contingency have hitherto received scant attention. We propose and empirically test a framework based on the configurational perspective encompassing prevailing network theory and the competence-based view of the firm. Survey data from 235 foreign-owned subsidiaries located in Singapore and Thailand was analyzed using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis technique. We found that information technology advancement and high overall competence levels are important asset bundles for the occurrence of high innovation performance outcomes. However, we also determined that it is important for some subsidiaries to maintain strong interfirm network relationships for innovation performance, especially in combination with higher information technology advancement. In addition, the role of network strength as a cause of innovation performance seems also dependent on the business environment and practices of the host country. In addition, we also show that innovation performance is an important factor facilitating market performance.

INVESTIGATING THE INNOVATION IMPACTS OF USER-CENTRED AND PARTICIPATORY STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY EUROPEAN LIVING LABS

The advantages of innovation strategies that are based on collaboration with users have been demonstrated by several studies, which have highlighted emerging shifts from a user-centred approach (in which the user is a subject) to a participatory one (in which the user is a partner). The Living Lab methodology, which is a design research methodology aimed at co-creating innovation through the involvement of aware users in a real-life setting, can provide new perspectives in the passage from user-centred to participatory design. In this paper, answers received by 92 Living Labs belonging to the European Network of Living Labs are used to (i) investigate the strategies adopted by Living Labs to involve users in their innovation processes and (ii) analyse the relationships between strategies and achieved innovation performance outcomes. The user-centred strategy positively impacts all innovation performance outcomes (e.g., time, cost, quality and go to market), but only time performance shows a significant difference between non-adopters and adopters. Observing user behaviors, capturing user insights and receiving user feedback positively impact the efficiency of innovation projects and allow them to be concluded in a timely manner. The participatory strategy shows that adopters are characterised by a significantly higher percentage of projects that are able to reach the market by moving from the research stage to the innovation stage. Practices such as co-design, collaboration through digital platforms and development of experience prototypes allow for the achievement of better results in terms of quality and, consequently, marketability of the project outcome, but reduce the efficiency of the innovation project in terms of time and cost.

Enhancing the performance of supplier involvement in new product development: the enabling roles of social media and firm capabilities

PurposeDrawing on complementarity theory, the purpose of this study is to posit that social media use enhances the effect of supplier involvement on new product development (NPD) performance, while two key firm capabilities further enhance the moderating effect of social media use: market and technological knowledge-processing capabilities.Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypotheses, the authors used a longitudinal survey of 367 firms, from seven major manufacturing industries: information technology (22.1 per cent), automotive industry (19.6 per cent), chemicals (18.2 per cent), textiles (13.3 per cent), machinery (12.5 per cent), energy (10.1 per cent) and others (4.1 per cent).FindingsThe results support the expectation that social media use and two firm capabilities (market and technological knowledge-processing capabilities) enhance the effect of supplier involvement on NPD performance in terms of product innovativeness, market performance and financial performance. Interestingly, post-hoc analyses indicate that supplier involvement has an inverted U-shaped relationship with product innovativeness. In addition, social media use not only strengthens the positive effect of, but also alleviates the negative effect of, supplier involvement in product innovativeness.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study provide new evidence that supply chain members’ use of social media better enables them to enhance their innovation performance with supplier involvement.Practical implicationsThis study provides practical direction to help manufacturing managers enhance innovation performance outcomes of supplier involvement.Originality/valueThis study makes an original contribution to the supply chain literature by empirically demonstrating the key enablers that increase the efficacy of supplier involvement.

Recombination for innovation: performance outcomes from international partnerships in China

This paper examines the relationship between different types of international partnerships and innovation performance. By drawing on a conceptual framework which outlines how new bundles of transferrable and nontransferrable ownership advantages are created from such partnerships (Collinson and Narula, ), we analyze empirical evidence from a large‐scale survey of 320 individual company responses from the China‐based operations of foreign multinational firms alongside in‐depth case studies. Our study reveals that different types of collaborative partnerships (cooperative vs. competitive) are associated with different innovation performance outcomes (product vs. process innovation). In addition, we find that a sustainable, reciprocal relationship between collaborative partners can generate superior innovation performance. Contextual factors including the role of government and industry characteristics have an important bearing on innovation performance in collaborative partnerships in China. We conclude with implications for researchers, managers, and policymakers.

Persistent innovation and the role of human resource management practices, work organization, and strategy

AbstractThis study makes a theoretical contribution by taking a persistent characteristics approach to explore the relationship between human resource management practices and innovation outcomes at the workplace-level. Innovators are categorized by the degree to which they are successful at achieving new product/processes and/or improved product/processes outcomes year over year. The human resource management practices explored include the use of highly qualified personnel, and skill-enhancing, motivation-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing sub-bundles of practices. Further, work organization practices are also explored including integration and collaboration, introduction of organizational changes, and the use of technology. The findings indicate workplaces that set strategic goals related to innovation, that motivate their employees, that create opportunity for their employees to act, and that make greater use of technology tend to be more persistent innovators. These findings can contribute to the development of government policy, which seeks to improve innovation performance outcomes.

Improving Innovation: Are Internal and External Sources of Knowledge Complements or Substitutes?

I theorize and test the concept that searching for knowledge that a firm acquires internally and externally are substitutive activities. Firms need to manage their knowledge sources to reduce costs while improving innovation performance by focusing on either an internal or external knowledge source. Alternatively, I also argue that searching for knowledge internally and externally are complementary activities; the benefits of investing in both exceed the costs involved leading to superior innovation performance outcomes. I find that internal and external sources are substitutes, but sourcing knowledge internally or externally has a different impact on incremental and radical innovation performance.

Asset recombination in international partnerships as a source of improved innovation capabilities in China

Purpose– This paper aims to examine how multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local partners, including suppliers, customers and competitors in China, improve their innovation capabilities through collaboration. This collaboration was analysed as a three-way interaction between the ownership-specific (O) advantages or firm-specific assets (FSAs) of the MNE subsidiary, the FSAs of the local partner and the location-specific assets of the host location.Design/methodology/approach– The propositions are examined through a survey of 320 firms, supplemented with 30 in-depth case studies, based in Mainland China.Findings– It is found that the recombination of asset-type (Oa) FSAs and transaction-type (Ot) FSAs from both partners leads to new innovation-related ownership advantages, or “recombinant advantages”. Ot FSAs, in the form of access to local suppliers, customers or government networks are particularly important for reducing the liability of foreignness for MNEs.Originality/value– The study reveals important patterns of reciprocal transfer, sharing and integration for different asset categories (tacit, codified) and different forms of FSA and explicitly links these to different innovation performance outcomes. The paper reports on these findings, making an empirical contribution in an important context (China-based partnerships). This paper also contributes to conceptual developments, connecting various kinds of FSA, tacit and codifiable assets and “recombinant advantages”. Limited conceptual, methodological and empirical contributions are made in linking asset integration with (measurable) innovation performance outcomes in international partnerships.