Radical innovation, incremental innovation, and competitive advantage, the moderating role of technological intensity: evidence from the manufacturing sector in Jordan

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman Wael Al-Khatib ◽  
Eyad Mustafa Al-ghanem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the effect of radical innovation and incremental innovation on the competitive advantage of Jordanian industrial companies and identify the moderating role of technological intensity. Design/methodology/approach For this study’s purposes, 303 questionnaires from employees of 30 manufacturing firms were analysed. Convergent validity and discriminant validity tests were performed through structural equation modelling in the Smart-PLS programme. Data reliability was confirmed. A bootstrapping technique was used to analyse the data. Multi-group analysis was performed to investigate the moderating role of technological intensity. Findings Empirical results showed that both radical innovation and incremental innovation explain 60.2% of the variance in competitive advantage and that both constructs have a statistically significant effect on competitive advantage. The results also revealed that the relationship between radical innovation and competitive advantage is modified through the high-tech industries. Meanwhile, the relationship between incremental innovation and competitive advantage is modified through the low-tech industries. Research limitations/implications This cross-sectional study provides a snapshot at a given moment in time, a methodological limitation that affects the generalization of its results and the results are limited to one country, Jordan. Practical implications This study promotes the idea of focusing on radical and incremental innovation to enhance competitive advantage in the Jordanian manufacturing sector and knowing the effect of technological intensity in this relationship. Originality/value This study has important implications for leaders in the Jordanian manufacturing sector in general, as the study highlights the importance of radical innovation and incremental innovation to enhance the competitive advantage, especially in light of the technological intensity in this sector, and thus, increase the innovative capabilities of this firms, which leads to an increase in the level of competitive advantage.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Gong ◽  
Zhiying Liu ◽  
Yanzhen Rong ◽  
Lihua Fu

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore how inclusive leadership promotes organizational performance through ambidextrous innovation (i.e. exploratory and exploitative innovation). Moreover, the authors examine the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in the relationship between inclusive leadership and ambidextrous innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a questionnaire survey of high-tech enterprises in China and obtained 325 useable samples. The hypotheses were tested using latent path analysis and ordinary least squares regression.FindingsThe results indicate that exploratory and exploitative innovations mediate the relationship between inclusive leadership and organizational performance. Moreover, environmental uncertainty positively moderated the relationship between inclusive leadership and exploitative innovation.Practical implicationsManagers should value the critical role of inclusive leadership in promoting exploratory and exploitative innovation, which in turn improves organizational performance. Meanwhile, managers need to pay attention to the risk caused by environmental uncertainty.Originality/valueThis paper extends the influence of inclusive leadership on innovation from the individual level to the organizational level and reveals the influence mechanism of inclusive leadership on organizational performance. In addition, this study supplements the knowledge regarding the boundary conditions under which the influence of inclusive leadership is strengthened or weakened.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miaomiao Yang ◽  
Juanru Wang ◽  
Jin Yang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how boundary-spanning search affects sustainable competitive advantage under the conditions that competitors also search and to test the moderating role of knowledge integration capability.Design/methodology/approachThis paper classifies boundary-spanning search into proactive search and responsive search by considering competition and develops a theoretical model in which knowledge integration capability moderates the effects of proactive and responsive searches on sustainable competitive advantage. Empirical analyses were conducted on the data of 245 Chinese advanced manufacturing firms.FindingsThe results show that proactive and responsive searches have inverted U-shaped relationships with sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, the relationships between proactive and responsive searches and sustainable competitive advantage are moderated by knowledge integration capability. Specifically, as knowledge integration capability increases, the inverted U-shaped relationship between proactive search and sustainable competitive advantage becomes flatter, whereas the inverted U-shaped relationship between responsive search and sustainable competitive advantage becomes almost linear.Originality/valueThis paper enriches the research of boundary-spanning search by considering competition and uncovers how boundary-spanning search affects sustainable competitive advantage under the conditions that competitors also search. Furthermore, this paper sheds light on that the effects of proactive and responsive searches on sustainable competitive advantage are even more complex than inverted U-shaped patterns and provides a contingent viewpoint to deeply understand the relationship between boundary-spanning search and sustainable competitive advantage.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bang-Ning Hwang ◽  
Yi-Ping Lai ◽  
Chunhsien Wang

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationships among open innovation, organizational ambidexterity and firm performance. One important aspect of open innovation is that it enables a firm to develop its organizational ambidexterity capability and become more efficient in using this capability to improve its performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors introduce a moderated mediation theoretical framework to reveal the bridging role of organizational ambidexterity in the effect of open innovation on firm performance. The theoretical model is empirically validated using survey data from 215 high-tech firms.FindingsThe authors find that open innovation plays a moderating role in the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance. Furthermore, organizational ambidexterity plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between open innovation and firm performance, and open innovation has a nonlinear, inverse U-shaped moderation effect on the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis is one of the first studies to undertake a moderated mediation analysis by highlighting the mediating role of organizational ambidexterity and the moderating role of open innovation in influencing firm performance. The authors make a theoretical contribution to the field of open innovation and organizational behavior, and the authors provide concrete and feasible decision-making suggestions to decision makers adopting open innovation.Practical implicationsThe empirical results can help high-tech firm managers ascertain the organizational ambidexterity practices that can be employed and determine the level of open innovation to enhance firm performance.Originality/valueThis research provides new insights into whether and how firms can grasp the benefits of organizational ambidexterity to undertake open innovation activities. The findings not only contribute to advancing the mediating effect of organizational ambidexterity but also verify the inverse U-shaped moderation of open innovation in the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Su ◽  
Bei Lyu ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Yanzi Zhang

PurposeWith the rapid development of the service industry, service innovation has gradually become a hot topic in business today. How to further improve employees' service innovative behaviors has become critical to organizations' survival and success. Servant leadership, as a leadership style characterized by serving others, is closely related to employees' service innovative behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework to examine the influence of servant leadership on employees' service innovative behavior, the mediating role of intrinsic motivation and the moderating role of identification with the leader.Design/methodology/approachTo test the theoretical model, a multi-time survey method was used to collect data from 381employees from a large high-tech company in Mainland China.FindingsThe results confirm that servant leadership can promote employees' service innovative behavior and intrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, employees' intrinsic motivation partly mediates the influence of servant leadership on their service innovative behavior. Moreover, this mediating relationship is conditional on the moderating role of individual identification with the leader in the path from servant leadership to individual intrinsic motivation.Research limitations/implicationsThe key limitation of this study lies in the representativeness of sample data, which is the convenience of non-probability sampling and self-reported data only from a large high-tech company in China.Practical implicationsThis study not only further verified a promotion factor of individual service innovative behavior from the perspective of leader influence, but also enriched the understanding of the positive influence of servant leadership on employees.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the relationships among servant leadership, employees' intrinsic motivation, identification with the leader and service innovative behavior. The results may help to open the “black box” of the relationship between servant leadership and employees' service innovative behavior by introducing their intrinsic motivation. The conclusions also indicate employees' identification with the leader is an important boundary condition among their relationships. Particularly, it not only moderates the relationship between servant leadership and intrinsic motivation, but also moderates the mediating role of intrinsic motivation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Lu ◽  
Jinliang Chen ◽  
Hua Song ◽  
Xiangyu Zhou

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how cloud computing assimilation reduces supply chain financing (SCF) risks of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study also investigated the mediating roles of internal and external supply chain integration between cloud computing assimilation and the SCF risks of SMEs, as well as the moderating role of environmental competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from surveys of SMEs located in China. Multiple regression analysis was used to validate the proposed theoretical model and research hypotheses. Findings The findings show that cloud computing assimilation could reduce the SCF risks of SMEs directly. The results also indicate that both internal and external supply chain integration mediate the relationship between cloud computing assimilation and SCF risks. Furthermore, environmental competitiveness inhibits the effects of cloud computing assimilation on SCF risks. Originality/value To our best knowledge, this is the preliminary study to explore the role of cloud computing assimilation in reducing the SCF risks of SMEs. Also, this study attempted to investigate the process by which cloud computing assimilation affects the SCF risks of SMEs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zulfiqar ◽  
Shihua Chen ◽  
Muhammad Usman Yousaf

PurposeOn the basis of behavioural agency theory and resource-based view, this study investigates the influence of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established), family entering time on R&D investment and the moderating role of the family entering time on the relationship between birth mode and R&D investment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected 2,990 firm-year observations from family firms listed on A-share in China from 2008 to 2016 in the China Stock Market and Accounting Research database. They used pooled regression for data analysis and Tobit regression for robustness checks.FindingsIndirect-established family firms show more inclined behaviour towards R&D investment than direct-established counterparts. Family entering time positively affects the R&D investment of family firms. Moreover, family entering time plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and R&D investment.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is a pioneering study that introduced the concept of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and family entering time. This work is novel because it differentiated family firms according to their birth modes, an approach which is a contribution to the existing literature of family firms. Moreover, the investigation of the moderating role of family entering time has also produced notable results that help understand the impact of family entering time on different types of family firms. The interpretation of outcomes according to behavioural agency theory also produced useful insights for future researchers as well as for policymakers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahnoor Zahid ◽  
Hina Naeem ◽  
Iqra Aftab ◽  
Sajawal Ali Mughal

Purpose The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the effect of corporate social responsibility activities (CSRA) of the firm on its financial performance (FP) and analyze the mediating role of innovation and competitive advantage (CA) in the relationship between CSRA and FP in the manufacturing sector of an emerging country, i.e. Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Data has been collected through an electronic structured questionnaire from 300 middle-level and top-level managers by surveying different manufacturing firms of Gujranwala, Pakistan. The study’s hypotheses have been checked by analyzing the reliability and validity of data and applying confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling through statistical package for the social sciences and analysis of moment structures. Findings Outcomes of this study supported the hypothesized model. It has been found that the CSRA plays a significant positive role in determining the FP of the firm. Furthermore, the CA and innovation have been proved as significant mediators between CSRA and FP. Originality/value The first time examining the intermediation of innovation and CA in the relationship between CSRA and FP is the primary input of this study to the literature. Practically, this study’s findings will help strategy makers of manufacturing firms in emerging countries develop better strategies for implementing CSRA, enhancing innovation, seeking CA and improving FP.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chansoo Park

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess how the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge is affected by the knowledge disseminative capacity of a foreign parent firm, with an emphasis on the moderating role of psychic distance, by developing and testing a theoretical model of international joint venture (IJV) learning. Design/methodology/approach The author tested the hypotheses with survey data collected from 199 IJVs in South Korea, estimating a structural equation model using AMOS 23.0. Findings The authors found that the capacity of the foreign parent to disseminate knowledge to the IJV has a greater impact on explicit knowledge transfer than tacit knowledge transfer. He also found that the relationship between disseminative capacity and explicit knowledge transfer is significantly moderated by psychic distance, but the relationship between disseminative capacity and tacit knowledge transfer is not. Originality/value The results are critical for IJVs and parent firms seeking to improve knowledge transfer, as they establish the importance of parent firms’ disseminative capacities and the moderating role of psychic distance in the process of both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer. This research addresses the research gap regarding disseminative capacity by providing empirical evidence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostantinos Alexandris ◽  
Nicholas Theodorakis ◽  
Kiki Kaplanidou ◽  
Dimitra Papadimitriou

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate if the three service quality dimensions (service environment, interaction and outcome quality), proposed by Brady and Cronin (2001), influence the development of event loyalty, among runners of the “‘Alexander the Great’ International Marathon”, and to test if running loyalty moderates the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Design/methodology/approach In all, 368 runners participated in the study and filled the Sport Event Quality Questionnaire (Theodorakis et al., 2015) and an adjusted version of the Leisure Involvement Questionnaire (Kyle et al., 2010). Findings The results indicated that only the service environment and outcome dimensions contributed significantly to the prediction of event loyalty, while, and in contrast to other sport services, interaction quality was not shown to be an important determinant for the development of event loyalty. Furthermore, running involvement was shown to play a moderating role in the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Service quality is more important for the development of event loyalty among low- than high-involved runners. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed. Research limitations/implications The study provided results on how high- and low-involved runners perceive event quality, and for which of these groups the event quality is an important antecedent for the development of event loyalty. Practical implications Investigating the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty has also applied value. While committed runners have been traditionally seen as a key target group for event marketing professionals, the majority of runners in city marathons today are more leisure oriented. The increase in the number of leisure runners is actually the reason for the rapid growth of city marathons in the last few years. Meeting the needs of these leisure runners and increasing their loyalty levels is therefore a key task for marathon marketers today. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature, as for the first time it explores the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty in the context of a sport event.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ing Grace Phang ◽  
Bamini K.P.D. Balakrishnan ◽  
Hiram Ting

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise in early 2020. The preventive measures imposed by many countries limited human movement, causing uncertainty and disrupting consumption patterns and consumer decision-making. This study aims to explore consumers’ panic buying (PB) and compulsive buying (CB) as outcomes of the intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The moderating role of sustainable consumption behaviours (SCBs) (e.g. quality of life [QOL], concern for future generation and concern for environmental well-being) were also tested to raise awareness of responsible and mindful consumption amongst the society and business stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach To empirically examine the grocery shopping behaviours of Malaysian consumers during COVID-19, a total of 286 valid grocery consumer survey responses based on a purposive sampling were collected and analysed during the movement control order period between March and July 2020. Findings The findings confirmed the statistically significant impact of IU on both PB and CB and the impact of PB on CB behaviour. Amongst the three SCBs tested, only QOL significantly moderated the relationship between the IU and PB. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to construct a framework of consumers’ PB and CB during the pandemic, building upon the stimulus-organism-response model and the concepts of IU and SCB. This study further serves as the pioneering study on the moderating role of SCB in consumer behaviour research in the pandemic context, whereby consumers’ QOL significantly moderates the relationship between their IU and PB. This study has also drawn specific implications for grocery retailers and government agencies for retail and policy planning to promote positive social transformation in consumer buying behaviours during a pandemic or crisis.


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