创新网络嵌入与高技术企业研发人员创新绩效关系研究

 创新驱动的实质是人才驱动，企业技术管理的重要核心之一是人员管理。研发人员是高技术企业的核心人力资本和主导资源，具有典型的稀缺性、创造性、主导性、体验性以及高信息需求等异质性特征，能否采取切实有效措施满足研发人员的异质性需求，激活其创新潜力和活力，是提升高技术企业创新绩效和管理技术人员的关键。        聚焦于高技术企业研发人员的异质性需求特征，运用创新网络嵌入理论，提出创新网络嵌入、创新效能感与创新绩效的关系假设模型；借鉴成熟量表，设计相关测量变量的调查问卷；利用Spss 19.0和Amos 21.0软件，对北京、上海、武汉、广州等地高技术企业研发人员的269个调查数据进行分析，考察创新网络嵌入对研发人员创新绩效的影响和作用机理，并验证创新效能感的中介作用。        研究结果表明，高技术企业研发人员的创新网络结构嵌入对创新过程和创新结果均具有显著正向影响，而关系嵌入仅对创新过程具有正向影响；创新网络结构嵌入和关系嵌入对创新效能感均具有显著正向影响，创新效能感对创新过程和创新结果具有显著正向影响；创新效能感在研发人员结构嵌入和关系嵌入对创新过程的影响中起完全中介作用，在结构嵌入对创新结果的影响中起部分中介作用。        从技术人员创新绩效管理的微观视角入手，探究高技术企业研发人员创新绩效的内涵、实质和影响因素，对高技术企业研发人员的创新网络嵌入与创新绩效的关系、创新效能感的中介作用以及创新网络嵌入与创新绩效的关系研究中关系嵌入悖论进行实证检验和解读，提出提升高技术企业研发人员创新绩效的创新网络嵌入式开发策略，包括聚焦产学研战略协同和集群创新、强化关系网络建设和位置管理、营造宽松氛围以提升创新效能感等。     

创新网络嵌入视角下企业研发竞争的博弈研究

研发投入是创新发展的基础和源泉,如何促进企业研发投入是实施创新驱动战略的关键。本文基于创新网络嵌入的背景,构建同一创新网络内两个企业间的博弈模型,针对不同网络位置企业竞争博弈和相同网络位置企业竞争博弈两种情形,探究在研发竞争状态下企业研发投入受网络地位、网络关系的影响情况。研究结果表明:创新网络嵌入下,同质企业的竞争性研发投入与网络范围的技术溢出、网络平均吸收能力以及网络中心度均存在正向相关关系。研究结论丰富了企业研发投入影响因素的研究成果,也为有效激励企业创新提供一个有价值的思路。     

The role of political ties and political uncertainty in corporate innovation

We examine the relationship between firms' political connections and corporate innovation in a European context. We also consider the moderating effect of political connections on the relationship between political uncertainty and firms' innovation. We use two different metrics of innovation: R&D (an input measure), and patent counts (an output measure). We find that firms with former politicians on their board of directors invest less in R&D than their counterpart firms. However, the presence of this type of director on the board is positively associated with the number of a firm's patent applications. It seems that, although political ties reduce the amount of resources devoted to R&D activities, they increase the effectiveness of intellectual rights protection. Results also show that political uncertainty decreases R&D investment but exacerbates the need for legal protection of innovation through patents. According to our results, political connections attenuate the effect of political uncertainty on firm innovation such that the negative (positive) effect of uncertainty on R&D intensity (patents) weakens when the firm is politically connected.     

Complements or substitutes? The contingent role of corporate reputation on the interplay between internal R&D and external knowledge sourcing

Existing research does not provide a clear answer to the question of whether internal knowledge development and external knowledge sourcing are complementary or substitutive innovation activities. This paper adopts a contingent approach for addressing this issue by examining whether and how the interactive effect of internal R&D efforts and external knowledge sourcing on product innovation performance may be affected by the firm’s corporate reputation. In doing so, a three-way interaction model is applied to a sample of 251 Spanish high-technology manufacturing firms. Interestingly, initial results support the substitutive argument: the positive effect of internal R&D on product innovation performance diminishes as the exposure to external knowledge increases. However, in well reputed companies, interaction becomes positive, revealing a complementary effect. Thus, the study extends the traditional approach focused on determining whether internal and external knowledge sourcing are complements or substitutes by showing that their interplay depends on other firm-specific characteristics. Moreover, identifying corporate reputation as a source of complementarity between both activities provides an additional explanation of how corporate reputation contributes to a more effective management of knowledge assets.     

R&D alliance portfolio and innovation in an emerging market: The role of business group affiliation and institutional reforms

The role of institutional factors in shaping the outcomes of research and development (R&D) alliance portfolios (APs) is underexplored in the extant literature. This study examines how institutional contingencies in an emerging market context affect the relationship between R&D AP composition (i.e., size and diversity) and firm innovation performance. This study draws on institutional perspective to suggest that business group affiliation (BGA) and institutional reforms positively moderate the relationship between R&D AP composition and innovation performance. A longitudinal empirical investigation conducted on a sample of 185 firms from Indian high-tech sectors, for the period 2003–2015, broadly supports our arguments. This study contributes to the AP and emerging markets literature by highlighting the effects of institutional contingencies of emerging markets on the outcomes of R&D APs.     

External technology acquisition and product innovativeness: The moderating roles of R&D investment and configurational context

An increasing number of studies in technology/innovation management contribute to the understanding of the relationship between external technology acquisition and product innovation performance. On the other hand, the meta-analytic reviews of new product development literature indicate a positive impact of product innovativeness on product innovation performance. However, existing research has not examined the link between external technology acquisition and product innovativeness. This study, therefore, aims to fill this gap of knowledge by investigating the external technology acquisition—product innovativeness relationship and examining the moderating roles of R&D investment and configurational context on this link. Based on a panel sample of 105 high-technology firms over a six-year period, a least squared dummy variable s model reveals interesting results. First, external technology acquisition has a positive impact on product innovativeness. Second, R&D investment increases the effect of external technology acquisition on product innovativeness. Lastly, firm size exhibits a negative effect on the contribution of external technology acquisition to product innovativeness. However, firm age positively impacts the relationship between external technology acquisition and product innovativeness. In addition, this study reveals a positive effect of product innovativeness on firm growth.     

The integration of TQM and technology/R&D management in determining quality and innovation performance

This paper presents an empirical study which examines the co-alignment between Total Quality Management (TQM) and technology/research and development (R&D) management in predicting organizational performance in terms of quality and innovation. This study improves our understanding of the relationship between TQM and innovation based on the following two major issues. First, this study contributes to the understanding of the co-alignment between TQM and technology management along with R&D management by bridging the gap between the two areas which are often addressed in a separate fashion. Second, this study also examines the impact of the integration between TQM and technology/R&D on quality and innovation performance which have been considered as the primary sources of a competitive advantage. The empirical data was drawn from 194 Australian organizations and analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The findings indicate that TQM shows a strong predictive power against quality performance but no significant relationship against innovation performance. On the other hand, technology and R&D management shows a significant relationship with quality performance but at a lower level than that of TQM, and shows much stronger relationship with innovation performance. In addition, there is strong and positive correlation between TQM and technology/R&D management. The major implication of this study is that technology/R&D management is an appropriate resource to be used in harmony with TQM to enhance organizational performance, particularly innovation.     

The Role of Project and Organizational Context in Managing High‐tech R&D Projects

High‐tech organizations often struggle to manage different types of R&D projects. Evidence from research and practice suggests that managers frequently categorize and manage projects based on the extent of change triggered in product, process, technology, and market dimensions. However, this can create challenges in high‐tech organizations. This study investigates how high‐tech organizations manage R&D projects based on their learning goals. First, we argue for the benefits of categorizing R&D projects based on the degree of exploration and exploitation learning goals. A qualitative case study from four high‐tech business units involving 10 R&D projects helps understand the different types of projects based on their learning goals. The case study shows that R&D projects in high‐tech organizations typically fall into three categories based on their learning goals: Radical innovation projects, Incremental innovation projects, and Hybrid projects. Second, we iterate between literature and evidence from our qualitative data to theorize how project context and organizational context affect project performance depending on the type of project. The data for the empirical analysis come from a multilevel survey of 110 R&D projects across 34 high‐tech business units. Results show the importance of designing project and organizational context differently for the three types of R&D projects. Collectively, this study offers a new perspective on how to manage high‐tech R&D projects.     

The impact of R&D sources on new product development: Sources of funds and the diversity versus control of knowledge debate

We build on the knowledge-based view to study the relative impact of alternative R&D sources on innovation performance. We contrast two arguments that have created a debate in the literature: One is that diversity of knowledge is better for innovation, because the integration of a larger variety of knowledge helps create new products that can fulfill unmet customer needs; another is that control of knowledge is better, because the incentives and contextual system of the firm facilitate employees' experimentation, which supports the creation of new products. We provide one solution to this debate by arguing that the relative importance of diversity and control of knowledge on innovation depends on the sources of finance. Hence, we find that, in general, control of knowledge has a higher impact than diversity of knowledge on the sale of new products. We also find that alternative sources of finance moderate the relationships: internal funds strengthen the impact of R&D sources with more diversity of knowledge on the sale of new products, while external funds strengthen the impact of R&D sources with more control of knowledge on the sale of new products.     

Genetic distance,international experience and the performance of cross-border R&D for EMNEs

Cross-border R&D can contribute to the enhancement of independent innovation capabilities of emerging markets multinational enterprises (EMNEs) by benefiting from knowledge management. However, scant research exists examining the location impact of cross-border R&D for EMNEs on performance implications. This paper fills this important theoretical gap by building upon the literature of genetic distance in connection with knowledge management. We use a panel data of Chinese high-tech listed companies to empirically examine the impact of genetic distance on the performance of cross-border R&D and the role played by international experience. Our results reveal a positive relationship between genetic distance and the performance of cross-border R&D. Importantly, we highlight the motivation for cross-border R&D of EMNEs to acquire technical knowledge magnifies the positive effects of genetic distance and performance. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that international experience significantly enhanced the positive effect of genetic distance on cross-border R&D performance. We conclude this paper by discussing theoretical contributions to genetic distance, international management and knowledge management, as well as practical implications for cross-border R&D of EMNEs.     

The impact of service R&D on the performance of Korean information communication technology small and medium enterprises

In recent years, research and development (R&D) in the service industry has attracted a great deal of attention from both academia and industrial firms. However, compared to the manufacturing sector, little research exists on the implications of R&D for the financial and/or non-financial performance of firms in the service industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of service R&D on the performance of information communication technology (ICT) firms. We identify five categories of R&D activities and investigate their impact on the financial and non-financial performance of 100 ICT firms, with a focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea. We postulate positive relationships between R&D efforts and a firm's performance. However, the findings only partially support our hypotheses; unexpected results demonstrate that the presence of R&D management negatively influences a firm's performance. We present detailed statistical results and discuss the implications of the study.     

Acquisition as a means for external technology sourcing: Complementary, substitutive or both?

This paper addresses the question of how a target firm's innovation activities relate to the acquiring firm's R&D characteristics, and more specifically, if the former substitute for, or complement the acquirer's activities. It investigates this question in three narrowly defined high technology industries by analysing the association of three R&D characteristics of acquiring firms with different measures of acquisition extent and content. The R&D characteristics referred to are: addressing R&D efforts, R&D outputs and absorptive capacity. Data was collected in each case for those firms whose combined sales revenue makes up 80% of the industry total and is used to test a set of hypotheses derived from extant literature. The findings confirm a substitutive relationship between acquisitions and acquirer research efforts as well as between acquirer and target patent output, whereas absorptive capacity is complementary to acquisition activities. The results reveal that acquirers target firms that hold a large number of patents in the fields where acquirer patenting is weak, and so address weaknesses in their own R&D output. This finding extends the extant literature on the role of external technology sourcing in the high technology context. Research findings are presented along with their implications and directions for future research.     

Managing the Performance Trade‐Offs from Partner Integration: Implications of Contract Choice in R&D Projects

Formal contracts represent an important governance instrument with which firms exercise control of and compensate partners in R&D projects. The specific type of contract used, however, can vary significantly across projects. In some, firms' govern partnering relationships through fixed‐price contracts, whereas in others, firms' use more flexible time and materials or performance‐based contracts. How do these choices affect the costs and benefits that arise from greater levels of partner integration? Furthermore, how are these relationships affected when the choice of contract is misaligned with the scope and objectives of the partnering relationship? Our study addresses these questions using data from 172 R&D projects that involve partners. We find that, (i) greater partner integration is associated with higher project costs for all contract types; (ii) greater partner integration is associated with higher product quality only in projects that adopt more flexible time and materials or performance‐based contracts; and (iii) in projects where the choice of contract is misaligned with the scope and objectives of the partnering relationship, greater partner integration is associated with higher project costs, but not with higher product quality. Our results shed light on the subtle interplay between formal and relational contracting. They have important implications for practice, with respect to designing optimal governance structures in partnered R&D projects.     

Effect of Formal Contracts,Relational Norms and Trust on Performance of Joint Research and Development Projects

This paper examines the effect of governance mechanisms – formal contracts, relational norms and trust – on the performance of exploration and exploitation joint research and development (R&D) projects. While the authors acknowledge the need for a twofold approach, transactional and relational, to understand the interfirm exchange governance, the joint action of formal contracts and relational governance has been caught between the complementary or substitutive forces involved in interorganizational relationships. Using survey data on joint exploration and exploitation R&D projects developed by the European biotechnology companies, the synergies of both mechanisms and their effects in improving project performance are investigated. The analysis suggests that contracts and relational norms and trust act as complementary mechanisms, but while contracts are more effective in exploitation projects, relational norms and trust are more powerful in improving the performance of exploration projects.     

Innovation and export performance: a study of Italian high-tech SMEs

The objective of the paper is to examine the influence of innovation measures on the export intensity of Italian high technology small and medium firms. In fact, despite a growing number of empirical studies attempting to guide the approximation of the value of innovation and its relative impact on the export intensity, a distinction between innovation input and output indicators, both internal and external to the firms has not been clearly established. Drawing on the innovation and export management literature, we used a sample of Italian firms operating in the high tech settings within the manufacturing industry (HTSMEs). Applying a 3?years lag time approach, we ran various Tobit regression models. Our empirical results revealed that: (1) R&D employees do positively and significantly impact the export intensity of HTSMEs, whereas R&D expenditures do not; (2) the use of ??Universities?? as external R&D partners has a positive influence on the export intensity of HTSMEs; (3) ??Product innovations?? and the ??Turnover derived from innovative activities?? positively and significantly affect the export intensity of firms in our sample.     

Technology development control styles in multinational corporations: a case study

Multinational firms tend to geographically disperse their R&D activities to a larger extent than in the past. International R&D seems to play an increasingly important role within the global process of technological innovation taking place in multinational corporations. As a consequence, firms are challenged to design global R&D organisations and manage foreign units playing a central role in their innovation process. A key managerial aspect is the balance between autonomy and control of foreign R&D units. This case study deals with management control styles over foreign R&D units. It is based on the results of an empirical analysis of 16 multinational firms operating in technology-intensive industries. It proposes a taxonomy of management control styles in foreign R&D and gives the cue for further research in the area of technology development control.     

不同阶段研发投资对企业绩效的动态效应研究:基于中国上市公司的面板数据分析

研发投资是提高企业绩效的重要途径,不同阶段的的研发投资对于企业绩效的改善存在着差异化作用。本文构建了不同阶段研发投资对企业绩效影响效应的理论模型,并以我国103家上市公司2010-2016年的相关数据为样本,从动态效应的实证分析阶段和开发阶段两个阶段的投资强度对企业绩效影响的异同,结果发现:研究阶段和开发阶段的投资对企业绩效影响均具有正向的积极影响作用,开发阶段的投资在当期对企业绩效的影响较强但不可持续,研究阶段的投资具有滞后效应并且对企业绩效的提升有比较长远的影响。因此过多关注开发阶段的投资并不能有效提高企业绩效,企业应加大研究阶段的投资,以更好地实现其在提高企业绩效中的长效作用。     

Do R&D activities foster globalization of young innovative companies? Empirical evidence from the Italian energy industry

Although executives and scholars interested in “globalization” and “R&D activities” mainly focus their attention on corporations, the relevance that young innovative companies – YICs are assuming is compelling them to redefine their focus. With reference to YICs, some scholars investigate the influence of globalization on R&D activities, while others inquire the impact of R&D activities on their globalization. This paper shares the second approach and sets out to investigate whether and to what extent R&D activities managed by YICs affect their globalization.By enacting Law n. 221/2012, the Italian Government has posed particular attention on YICs. Accordingly, primary and second-hand data concerning 2070 Italian YICs with high technological value in the energy industry – YICsei and 12,278 Italian YICs (operating in other industries) are used to carry out stochastic frontier analyses – SFAs. These allow testing whether R&D activities (measured through investments, personnel, and outputs) foster the globalization of these firms. SFAs reveal that none of the three factors affects the globalization of Italian YICsei; instead, R&D personnel and R&D outputs foster the globalization of Italian YICs.Achieved results open new research avenues about the impact of R&D activities on the globalization of YICs.     

Internationalization of R&D and Innovation Performance in the Pharma Industry

This research investigates the effect of R&D internationalization and contingency variables on innovation performance. A number of prior studies addressing this question have concluded in diverse and inconsistent findings, which can be attributed only partly to sample selection and measurement discrepancies. Using a longitudinal dataset of global pharmaceutical firms, we partly solve this ambiguity in the R&D internationalization and innovation performance relationship. The results reveal an S-shaped relationship, suggesting the benefits of R&D internationalization ultimately overcome the costs after critical levels of R&D internationalization. This finding combines and unites prior findings of a U-shaped, followed by an inverse U-shaped curve. In addition, we find that the experience in conducting R&D internationally, but not the degree of general internationalization, moderates the relationship between degree of R&D internationalization and performance. This suggests that the effect is contingent on the knowledge of internationalization path of the firm but can flourish in the absence of overall internationalization as well. Implications for theory and practice are derived.     

The role of supplier innovation performance and strategies on the smartphone supply market

The paper analyses the supplier-side of buyer-supplier relationships examining the linkage of innovation performance and strategies with suppliers' market performances. The research has been conducted on the smartphone industry. A patent-based framework allows the investigation at the product level using techniques deriving from content analysis. The methodology is tested on a sample of 100 couples' component supplier gathered from the Nomura report. Results confirm the positive relationship between suppliers’ market shares and innovation elements. First, the market performance of suppliers depends on the performance of R&D activities carried out to develop smartphone-related technologies. Second, when companies adopt specialization strategies, concentrating on the end product the development of component technologies, the market shares are higher. From the methodological point of view, the work suggests how to operationalize patent data to perform analyses at the product level. The suggested framework can be employed by companies as a managerial tool.