Innovation Performance Research Articles

Digitalisation of manufacturing and innovation: the role of inbound open innovation and environmental turbulence in enabling Industry 4.0-based innovation

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies have demonstrated their potential to significantly drive innovation and enhance the performance of firms. However, I4.0 implementation is complex, requiring the application of diverse fields of knowledge and skill. Furthermore, although open innovation may contribute to the implementation of I4.0 technologies, the literature is still not clear about which open innovation practices best leverage the adoption of I4.0 technologies or how they might lead to improvements in product and process innovations, particularly when firms are facing turbulent environments. The present article aims to reduce this gap by investigating the relationships between open innovation, the adoption of I4.0 technologies, and product and process innovation performance, considering technological and market turbulence as moderating variables. As a research method, we carried out a quantitative survey of 246 industrial companies in Brazil. The results revealed that inbound open innovation flows can be used to support the adoption of I4.0 technologies, which in turn improves both process and product innovation performance. Our findings also indicate that in more technologically turbulent environments, the relationship between inbound open innovation and the adoption of I4.0 is stronger. Unexpectedly, the moderating role of market turbulence was not confirmed. The discussion arising from these findings addresses theoretical implications for the digitalisation of manufacturing, innovation management and contingency theory, as well as offering practical insights for managers and policymakers interested in performing I4.0-based innovation.

How are firms motivated to greenly innovate under the pressure of ESG performance? Evidence from Chinese listed firms

The impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance gaps on firm green innovation is examined in this paper by a panel database of A-share Chinese listed companies from 2011 to 2021. Using multiple linear regression and conducting a series of endogeneity tests and robustness checks, our empirical analysis shows that firm ESG performance gaps have significantly positive effect on green innovation. Both ESG performance below historical aspiration and social aspiration levels enhance a firm’s green innovation. Confucian culture negatively moderates the positive relationship between ESG performance gaps and green innovation, suggesting that firms more influenced by Confucian culture exhibit reduced green innovation than those less influenced. Additionally, firm digitalization positively moderates the positive relationship between ESG performance gaps and green innovation, indicating that firms with higher levels of digitalization are better equipped to improve green innovation when facing ESG performance shortfalls. This study extends the existing knowledge of firm ESG performance and motivation of green innovation. The research findings offer practical insights for leveraging the motivation and capabilities of green innovation to attain firm ESG objectives.

The impact of R&D organizational structure on developing technological capabilities and the moderation of R&D slack

PurposeDeveloping technological capabilities to enhance innovation performance is essential for firms to respond to external changes and competition. Based on the effect of organizational structure on organizational capability development, this study assesses whether a specific R&D organizational structure design can be used to develop different technological capabilities.Design/methodology/approachCombining organizational theory and the resource-based view as an integrated view, we propose several contrasting hypotheses to show the effects of three general R&D organizational structure designs (centralized, decentralized, and hybrid) on developing exploitative and explorative capabilities. We propose R&D slack as a moderator. 82 Taiwanese listed manufacturing firms were selected. Data on the firms' annual reports and their patent applications to the Taiwan Patent Office from 2005 to 2017 were collected.FindingsFirms’ adoption of centralized and decentralized R&D structures has a significant positive effect on developing exploitative capability and an opposite effect on developing explorative capability. A high or low R&D slack can moderate the impact of R&D organizational structure on non-routine capability development.Research limitations/implicationsThis study concludes that R&D organizational structure affects the development of different technological capabilities and that the effect of R&D organizational structure on the development of technological capabilities can be changed under the moderation of R&D slack, which means that the possibility of developing different technological capabilities under the same organizational structure will increase.Practical implicationsThe top manager should consider the relationship between R&D structure design and technological capability development to manage the R&D routines to influence the generation of technological capabilities. Also, they must utilize the provision of R&D slack to modulate technological capability development.Originality/valueThis study reexamines the relationship between organizational structure and capability development. It shows that organizational structure can shape unique technological capabilities and that firms may be able to change structural elements through slack resources, enabling ambidexterity or dynamic capability development without organizational change.

Psychic Distance’s Impact on China’s Reverse M&A Innovation

ABSTRACT In this study, we examined Chinese firms’ cross-border reverse mergers and acquisitions (M&As). From the perspective of internal and external uncertainties, as well as the essence of psychic distance (PD), we established five dimensions of the PD of cross-border reverse M&A: cultural distance, national image, degree of internationalization, top management team (TMT)‘s overseas background, and perceived distance. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we found that the impact of PD on innovation performance was a combination of multiple factors, showing three types of configurations: external uncertainty dominant, internal uncertainty dominant, and perceived distance dominant. We further explored the interactions between knowledge conditions, such as firm size, industry relevance, and relative knowledge scale, and PD. This study supplements and expands current theories on the internationalization of emerging market enterprises from the perspective of latecomer countries.

Innovation Eco-Embeddedness, Breakthrough Innovation, and Performance of Non-Core Firms: A Mediation Moderation Study

Innovation Eco-Embeddedness, Breakthrough Innovation, and Performance of Non-Core Firms: A Mediation Moderation Study

Input-output-outcome innovation model: an analysis of the Brazilian manufacturing companies

PurposeThe objectives of this study are to identify which inputs are most relevant for development and successful introduction of product and process innovations and identify the impacts of these two types of innovation on the performance of Brazilian manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes the relationships between input, output and outcome for a sample of 5,586 Brazilian manufacturing companies by using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results indicate that (1) product innovations are favored by internal resources, (2) process innovations are favored by external resources, (3) product innovations mainly affect a range of products offered by companies and (4) process innovations mainly affect performance in manufacturing capacity, flexibility and costs.Practical implicationsBy identifying the main efforts to improve the innovation performance and input-output-outcome relationships, the results can contribute to a better decision-making process for innovation investments and management in companies as well as for policymakers. The results are particularly relevant given that the Brazilian case can serve as a reference for other emerging countries.Originality/valueAnalyses of the innovation in input-output-outcome relationships were performed in a comprehensive way by using a set of variables for defining each construct. This allowed each construct to be better measured, which improved the understanding of the relationships between inputs and outcomes mediated by product and process innovations.

The Process of Visionary Leadership Increases Innovative Performance among IT Industry 4.0 for SMEs for Organizational Sustainability: Testing the Moderated Mediation Model

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, competition among IT industries is becoming increasingly fierce. If a company is weak in its competitive advantage, it can have a huge negative impact on its organizational sustainability and ultimately lead to organizational failure. In such a research background, we highlighted that employees’ innovative performance via creativity acts as an alternative lubricant to increase the sustainable competitive advantage and promote overall organizational sustainability. In particular, employees’ innovative performance has a great relationship with organizational culture and types of leadership. Hence, we focused on exploring the ways in which visionary leadership increases employees’ innovative performance, presenting and verifying a moderated mediation research model related to the innovative performance. To verify our research model, this study conducted a survey of 303 employees from the information technology (IT) industry of SMEs in China. According to the results, visionary leadership was found to have a positive influence on both psychological empowerment and employees’ innovative performance. In addition, psychological empowerment partially mediated the impact of visionary leadership on the innovation performance. Finally, the organizational learning culture moderated the effects of psychological empowerment and the innovation performance. Overall, this study contributes to revealing the process that leads to employees’ innovative performance and contributes to expanding the research field by verifying the moderated mediation model for a sustainable competitive advantage and organizational sustainability in IT Industry 4.0 for SMEs.

The impact of patent infringement litigation decisions on firms’ innovation performance in China

The judiciary protects the value of innovation through remedies such as injunctions and damages when patent rights are infringed, adjusting the expected returns on future innovation activities for firms. Based on data from 1,062 Chinese firms involved in Patent Infringement Litigations (PILs), this study uses three-way fixed-effects Poisson panel regression models to examine the dynamic impacts of a PIL win-or-lose decision on breakthrough and incremental innovation performance for plaintiff and defendant firms. The study finds that plaintiff micro and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) can only engage in short-term breakthrough innovation after winning a PIL. Plaintiff medium and large-sized enterprises (MLEs) tend to adopt the patent defence strategy after winning, while losing a case positively impacts their breakthrough and incremental innovation. Defendant firms adopt the strategy from incremental innovation to breakthrough innovation after winning, while losing inhibits their innovation. The current Chinese patent system has an imbalance in incentivizing innovation for MSEs. Whether winning or losing, defendant MSEs participating in litigation significantly inhibit their innovation performance at different levels. This paper provides a multidimensional angle for studying the relationship between patent protection and corporate innovation.

The impact of executive team competency-sharing degree on firm innovation performance

In China’s high-quality development context, the key role of executive teams in corporate innovation is increasingly prominent. However, effectively utilizing the synergistic effect of competencies within these teams to boost innovation performance remains a crucial research issue. A sample of 2,350 companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2010 to 2022 was used to examine the impact of the executive team’s capability-sharing degree on firm innovation performance. The study indicates that the degree of managerial competence sharing, entrepreneurial competence sharing, and technological competence sharing within the executive team positively impacts firm innovation performance. These findings remain robust in the face of variations in dependent variable measures, lagged independent variables, and the propensity score matching method. Environmental dynamism is identified as playing a positive moderating role in the relationship between the influence of managerial, entrepreneurial, and technological capability-sharing degrees and firm innovation performance. Further analysis of heterogeneity reveals that the impact of the executive team’s capability-sharing degree on firms’ innovation performance varies based on the nature of property rights, firm size, and industry competitiveness. This study, grounded in top-level ladder theory, offers a framework for enhancing team capabilities and overcoming growth obstacles through executive team competence sharing.

Restrictive immigration policies and MNE innovation

AbstractHigh-skill migrant workers significantly contribute to advanced economies by directly generating knowledge-intensive assets and serving as bridges to knowledge in their origin countries. However, rising populist sentiment has led to increased immigration restrictions in wealthy economies like the U.S. and the Europe Union. This study examines the impact of the 2004 H-1B visa cap reduction on U.S.-based multinational enterprises (MNEs). We use a sample of 371,856 patents assigned to 707 U.S.-based MNEs. We find that post-shock, MNEs increased the geographic dispersion of their global R&D workforce, rather than replacing foreigners with local American workers. Despite this, the firms experienced a decline in innovation performance, likely due to elevated coordination challenges. Interestingly, sectors relying more on codified knowledge demonstrated increased R&D team dispersion with less impact on innovation. This suggests that the geographic proximity of innovation teams is crucial for tacit knowledge-intensive sectors. These findings highlight the complex consequences of immigration restrictions and suggest boundary conditions on the effectiveness of work-from-anywhere models in knowledge-intensive industries.

Influence of Leadership and Digital Competence on Marketing Performance: Mediation by Innovation, Moderation by Competition

This study investigates the influence of strategic leadership, digital proficiency, technological innovation, and the competitive landscape on marketing success, highlighting the mediating function of technological innovation and the moderating effect of the competitive environment. We collected data from 305 employees at Indonesian Sharia Bank, Aceh Sharia Bank, and PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda. The SEM-PLS analysis reveals that strategic leadership and digital competency significantly improve technical innovation and marketing performance. Technological innovation substantially enhances marketing outcomes. While the competitive landscape improves marketing performance, its moderating influence is significant and detrimental. The study highlights the need for developing leadership and digital skills to drive innovation. By investing in these fields and understanding the competitive landscape, companies can strengthen their competitive edge and improve marketing results. Persist in implementing these discoveries

Dynamic Interactive Effects of Technological Innovation, Transportation Industry Development, and CO2 Emissions

This paper aims to clarify the intricate relationships between technological innovation, transportation industry development, and CO2 emissions to facilitate a positive synergy among technology, the economy, and climate, advancing the fulfillment of the ‘double carbon’ goal. Utilizing panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020, we employ the panel vector autoregressive model using a generalized method of moments to empirically examine the dynamic interactive effects between these participants. The findings reveal that the transportation industry significantly promoted the inhibitory impact of technological innovation on CO2 emissions. However, such reductions cannot counterbalance the rise in emissions from the transportation industry. Moreover, its effects varied significantly across regions. Specifically, transportation industry development within eastern China contributed to a shift in the local carbon emission effects from positive to negative under the positive influence of technological innovation. In the northeast, the transportation industry enhanced the inhibitory effect of technological innovation on CO2 emissions. In contrast, across the western region, industrial development in transportation intensified the role of technological innovation in promoting CO2 emissions. Furthermore, this work found that CO2 emissions notably diminished the CO2 reduction performance of technological innovation in the eastern part and enhanced this performance in the northeastern region. These findings further revealed the complex interplay between technological innovation, the transportation industry, and CO2 emissions. They offer insights for policymakers to tailor region-specific technologies to bolster the ‘dual carbon’ goal and sustainable transportation development strategies, thereby achieving CO2 reduction.

Retraction Note: Digital intelligent manufacturing mode innovation and industrial performance analysis based on industrial internet of things cluster

Retraction Note: Digital intelligent manufacturing mode innovation and industrial performance analysis based on industrial internet of things cluster

Eco-friendly strategic goals and the performance of innovative green processes: The impact of green intellectual capital

The purpose of this study is to check the intellectual capital's role in shaping green process innovation. This article contends the company's capacity to create, possess, incorporate, and implement environmentally friendly intellectual assets in its activities will result in a higher degree of performance in terms of innovative green processes. This performance serves as an indicator of the company's enduring dedication to an environmentally conscious strategy. The industries chosen for this study comprised textile, chemical, pharmaceutical, and steel based in Mexico. The random sampling technique was used to gather data. Upon analyzing the gathered data, we used only 253 questionnaires for analysis, representing a response rate of 42.7%. Findings indicate green strategic intent significantly influences three components of intellectual capital: human, relational, and organizational capital. Three components of intellectual capital significantly influence green process innovation. A green strategy can be successfully implemented by the implementation of intangible resources. Mere tangible resources are insufficient to gain superior green innovation performance; the interaction of these two resources (tangible and intangible) is complementary. Companies are adopting environmental strategies to mitigate the environment's harmful impact and meet stakeholders' demands. The study’s practical implications aim to improve companies’ environmental performance, specifically their green performance, through the implementation of green innovation.

Green Innovation and firm Performance: An Empirical Study of China's Power Industry

With China’s goal of achieving "carbon peak and neutrality”, green innovation has become an inevitable choice to accomplish the dual objective of ecological protection and economic growth. The objective of this study is to examine whether green innovation can contribute to enhancing firm performance. Specifically, this study empirically investigates the relationship between green innovation and firm performance by analyzing a sample of listed firms in China's A-share power industry from 2009 to 2022. By using panel fixed effect regression, this study found that green innovation markedly and positively enhances the firm's current performance. Furthermore, this paper tested the effect of green innovation on the firm's future performance, which is positive and greater than the effect on the current performance. Through data support spanning 14 years, this study verifies the theoretical hypothesis that green innovation can substantially enhance firm performance in the power industry. This not only deepens the understanding of how green innovation affects firm performance but also offers empirical evidence to support the further implementation and advancement of green innovation within the power industry. This study only uses a sample of a single industry, so the conclusions of this study do not have explanatory power for firms in other industries.

Female Directors and Technological Innovation: Evidence from China

Research on strategic leadership's role in achieving superior performance in technological innovation is still evolving, particularly regarding the effects of female directors and the contextual factors that enhance their effectiveness. This study provides a comprehensive view of female directors’ influence on R&D initiatives, innovation outputs, and innovation efficiency. Using Upper Echelons Theory and Agency Theory as the theoretical framework, the study employs fixed-effect regression for baseline outcomes, addressing endogeneity with prediction modeling, propensity score matching, and an instrumental variable approach on panel data from Chinese listed firms (2008–2021). Findings indicate that female directors not only enhance R&D investment but their presence on the board achieves higher innovation outcomes and ensures innovation efficiency. Findings also reveal that the interaction with CEOs is crucial, as newly appointed CEOs moderate the advisory role of female directors, while CEO power influences their monitoring role. The study also shows that female directors are more effective when they constitute a critical mass on the board rather than merely having token representation. These findings suggest that including women on the board is essential for superior innovation outcomes, especially when resource efficiency is a firm's priority.

Creating airlines’ innovation: linking employees’ perspective of service quality, intellectual capital and innovation performance

ABSTRACT This study investigates various dimensions, including service quality, absorptive capacity, innovation performance, and intellectual capital (specifically organisational capital, social capital, and human capital), within the context of the airline industry. A survey questionnaire was administered to airline employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that service quality has the potential to generate favourable innovation outcomes, such as increased absorptive capacity, thereby further enhancing employee innovation performance. Service quality is also found to have a simultaneous positive impact on human capital, leading to increased innovation performance and absorptive capacity. Therefore, organisations should prioritise the development of absorptive capacity to enhance both human capital and the accumulation of intellectual capital. Furthermore, both organisational capital and human capital play a vital role in these intricate strategy decision procedures. These factors play a crucial role in strengthening the connections between service quality and innovation performance.

The Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) on Innovation Performance with Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Culture as Intervening Variables: A Study on PT Pos Indonesia (Persero) Bandung

This study examines the effect of Total Quality Management (TQM) on innovation performance at the Main Branch Office of PT Pos Indonesia (Persero) Bandung, with knowledge sharing and organizational culture serving as intervening variables. The data was collected using a saturated sampling of 85 respondents and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling using SmartPLS. This research method is commonly used in quantitative research. Organisational culture, knowledge sharing, and innovation performance are all positively and significantly impacted by TQM, according to the findings. Furthermore, the connection between TQM and innovation performance is moderated to a large extent by both knowledge sharing and organisational culture. This research shows that TQM, supported by a values-driven culture and an emphasis on information sharing, is essential for encouraging innovation.

Big data analytics, GHRM practices, and green digital learning paving the way towards green innovation and sustainable firm performance

This research aims to understand the connections among Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices, Green Digital Learning Orientation (GDLO), Green Innovation (GI), and Sustainable Firm Performance (SFP) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Saudi Arabia. The data were analyzed utilizing the PLS-SEM approach, whereas data from 341 SMEs was examined. The study findings reveal significant positive relationships between GHRM and GI, GDLO and GI, GHRM practices and GDLO, and GI and SFP. The study supports the mediating role of green innovation in these relationships. Big data analytics is found to moderate the connections between GHRM-GI and GDLO-GI. This study is the first to establish the theoretical connection with the AMO model by emphasizing how GHRM and innovation enhance sustainable firm performance. Also, practical implications guide SMEs in integrating GHRM practices, raising a culture of innovation, and acknowledging the pivotal role of employees. The study recognizes limitations, urging future research to consider external factors and address gaps in the literature on GHRM practices in SME sustainable firm performance in the Gulf region.

Connection of innovation activity effectiveness and technological novelty of innovation output

The paper studies the relationship between the innovation performance of Russian industrial enterprises and the degree of technological novelty of their innovative products. For this purpose, the innovation function is introduced. That function reflects the dependence of the “output” of the innovation process on its factors measured by the costs of process and product innovations. Hypotheses about the properties of this function are discussed. The relationship between the two types of innovation costs is considered. As an indicator of technological efficiency the ratio of the value of innovative products to the innovative resource costs is used. The dependence of the performance indicator on innovation costs is investigated. The points of local maxima (local technological optimum) of the performance indicator for the size classes of Russian industrial enterprises are found. It is shown that there is a relationship between the effectiveness of innovative activity and the degree of technological novelty of innovative products. As an indicator of the degree of technological novelty the share of the innovative products new to the market in all innovative products is used. It was established that there is a change in the trend of innovative production from the production of radical to incremental innovative products when approaching the technological optimum.