دانلود رایگان مقاله چگونه واسطه ها باعث نوآوری شرکت های بزرگ می شوند؟ یک بازرسی میانجیگری معتبر

abstract

Although intermediaries frequently bridge knowledge gaps and enhance innovation searches as important sources of external knowledge, the mechanisms regarding how and when intermediaries become effective drivers of corporate innovation still remain indistinct. Using a sample of Chinese manufacturing firms, this study proposes and empirically tests a theoretical framework for understanding the effects of intermediaries on corporate innovation performance. The results of a moderated mediation analysis show that firms' ties to intermediaries can contribute to innovation by enhancing the scope of external innovation searches and reducing search costs. Absorptive capacity acts as a mediator in the relationship between intermediaries and innovation performance. Environmental munificence and complexity negatively moderate this mediation effect.

5. Conclusion

This study contributes to the existing literature on corporate innovation in several ways. First, it contributes to the research on innovation. By theorizing and testing both the direct and indirect effects of intermediaries on substantive outcomes, this study provides a better understanding of external innovation search strategies and suggests that innovating firms should focus on this area; and should also take advantage of intermediaries to broaden their external search scope and depth without incurring high costs. Hence, firms' capacity plays a critical role in the processes when external knowledge leads to substantive outcomes. Intermediaries only play the role of a complement, rather than a substitute, for internal activities of knowledge management. The outcomes of innovation search are context-dependent. Aspects of the external environment (e.g., munificence and complexity) exert a significant but distinctive influence. This result answers the call of Caner and Tyler (2015) by including industrial heterogeneity.