Network embeddedness and inbound open innovation practice: The moderating role of technology cluster

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on open innovation and the moderating role of information technology (IT) capability on the relationship between HPWS and open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a questionnaire survey in the industrial parks of the Yangzi River Delta in China and obtained 108 useful responses.FindingsHPWS positively impacts open innovation. IT exploration capability strengthens the relationship between HPWS and open innovation, whereas IT exploitation capability and ambidexterity do not strengthen such relationship.Research limitations/implicationsFirms should use HPWS to improve employees' motivation of external learning and searching for enhancing innovation openness. They should acknowledge the enabling role of IT exploration capability in facilitating employees' learning and searching toward open innovation and discreetly develop IT exploitation capability and ambidexterity during external knowledge searching, which may not achieve the desired facilitation purpose.Originality/valueThis study contributes to human resource management (HRM) by suggesting that a new antecedent, which is HPWS in our case, should be taken into account when considering the influence of HRM in the process of open innovation. This study has important implications for HPWS, IT capability and open innovation; open innovation can be improved by using HPWS and IT capability. This study also expands IT ambidexterity to HRM and innovation studies.

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Structural network embeddedness and firm incremental innovation capability: the moderating role of technology cluster

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing ◽

10.1108/jbim-05-2019-0253 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoxiao Shi ◽

Lu Lu ◽

Wei Zhang ◽

Qingpu Zhang

Keyword(s):

Empirical Research ◽

Incremental Innovation ◽

Central Position ◽

Innovation Capability ◽

Patent Data ◽

Content Type ◽

Network Embeddedness ◽

Structural Network ◽

Moderating Role

Purpose This paper aims to propose the following questions: How do structural network embeddedness influence firms’ incremental innovation capability? Does technology cluster moderate the relationships between them? Design/methodology/approach In this empirical research, the authors collected a sample of patent data in the smartphone industry over the period of 2000-2018. Then, the authors examined the direct roles of structural network embeddedness on firms’ incremental innovation capability and the moderating role of technology cluster by using ordinary linear squares regression. Findings The empirical results show that occupying the central position positively affects firms’ incremental innovation capability, and clustering strengthens this linear relationship. Furthermore, bridging structural holes has an inverted U-shaped effect on incremental innovation capability, and clustering positively moderated this nonlinear relationship, while bridging ties across different clusters plays a negative moderation role in this relationship. Originality/value This empirical research provides new insights into whether and how firms can grasp the benefits of structural network embeddedness to conduct incremental innovations and the moderation effects of technology cluster contingencies. It further contributes to the structural network embeddedness–incremental innovation capability issue by extending its research context to the smartphone industry.

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