Innovating in the Entrepreneurial Firm: Boundary Spanning Activities and Absorptive Capacity

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (1) ◽  
pp. 14896
Author(s):  
Laurel F Ofstein ◽  
Rodney C. Shrader ◽  
Maija Renko
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Entrepreneurial Firm ◽  
Firm Boundary

Impact of knowledge search on product and process innovation: mediating role of absorptive capacity and moderating role of IT capability

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Gao ◽  
Xiu-Hao Ding ◽  
Suming Wu
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Process Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
It Capability ◽  
Product And Process Innovation ◽  
Knowledge Search ◽  
Product And Process

PurposeMore enterprises adopt open innovation by breaking technological or organizational boundaries to seek internal and external knowledge when they face a fiercely competitive environment, complex market demands, and increasingly rapid technological change. In this context, a knowledge search strategy is regarded as an effective means of obtaining inside and outside resources and an important way to break the innovation bottleneck. Moreover, information technology (IT) is deemed an important asset for sourcing knowledge, whereas absorptive capacity is seen as an indispensable ability for utilizing novel knowledge. Thus, this paper aims to test the role of knowledge search in open innovation and examine the mediating effect of absorptive capacity and the moderating effect of IT capability.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 1,088 Chinese firms’ data collected by the World Bank in 2012, this paper employs logistic regression to test the hypotheses.FindingsThis study finds that local and boundary-spanning search strategies positively influence both product and process innovation, and absorptive capacity has a mediating role in the relationships between knowledge search and product and process innovation. Moreover, IT capability has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between local search and innovation performance; however, IT capability strengthens the relationship between boundary-spanning search and process innovation while weakens that between boundary-spanning search and product innovation.Originality/valueThis study explores the impact of different knowledge search behaviors on different types of innovation and probes the role of absorptive capacity and IT capability in mediating and moderating the above relationships. By drawing on knowledge-based theory and cognitive-developmental theory, this paper provides a novel perspective to explain the mechanism between knowledge search and innovation performance.

scholarly journals The Effects of Boundary-Spanning Search, Network Ties, and Absorptive Capacity for Innovation: A Moderated Mediation Examination

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ren Ze ◽  
Zhan Kun ◽  
Francis Boadu ◽  
Liu Yu
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Moderated Mediation ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Survey Questionnaire ◽  
Innovation Capability ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
Key Driver ◽  
And Diffusion

Innovation is a key driver for organizations to survive and thrive in increasingly hyper-competitive markets. This study investigates the effects of boundary-spanning search on innovation capability. Specifically, it examines the mediating and moderating effects of network ties and absorptive capacity on boundary-spanning search and innovation in Chinese companies. We constructed a theoretical model of an organization’s boundary-spanning search and innovation capability and distributed a survey questionnaire to a sample of specific industries with upstream and downstream relations in Sichuan Province in China for their responses. Results from the study reveal that boundary-spanning search has a positive and significant impact on innovation capability as well as a positive moderating effect on absorptive capacity and innovation capability. This paper shows that enterprises need to continuously focus on exploring networking opportunities in direct and indirect ways to get access to effective flow and diffusion of resources, which in turn can enhance innovation capability.

scholarly journals The role of the translator/interpreter in knowledge transfer environments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Cranefield ◽  
Pak Yoong
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Knowledge Model ◽  
Research Project ◽  
State Sector ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Staged Model

This paper reports on the results of a larger research project that investigated the factors impacting on inter-organisational transfer in the New Zealand State Sector. Seven gatekeepers (boundary-spanning individuals) from different organisations were interviewed about their experiences in facilitating knowledge transfer between a cross-sector working group and their organisation. The context for the research was the Pathfinder Project, a project based around the development and transfer of an emergent knowledge model for strategic management, Managing for Outcomes (MfO). A range of factors that facilitated knowledge transfer were identified. Among these, translation and interpretation activities were found to be critical to successful knowledge transfer. Gatekeepers reported acting as translator/interpreter, an essential role which demanded specialised skills. The nature of this role is outlined, with reference to a staged model for knowledge transfer that emerged from the research project. The translator/interpreter role required gatekeepers to engage in active and continuous conversion of knowledge to meet the differing needs of a range of recipients. This helped to increase the overall absorptive capacity of participating organisations. Implications of these findings for research and practice are outlined. © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals The role of the translator/interpreter in knowledge transfer environments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Cranefield ◽  
Pak Yoong
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Knowledge Model ◽  
Research Project ◽  
State Sector ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Staged Model

This paper reports on the results of a larger research project that investigated the factors impacting on inter-organisational transfer in the New Zealand State Sector. Seven gatekeepers (boundary-spanning individuals) from different organisations were interviewed about their experiences in facilitating knowledge transfer between a cross-sector working group and their organisation. The context for the research was the Pathfinder Project, a project based around the development and transfer of an emergent knowledge model for strategic management, Managing for Outcomes (MfO). A range of factors that facilitated knowledge transfer were identified. Among these, translation and interpretation activities were found to be critical to successful knowledge transfer. Gatekeepers reported acting as translator/interpreter, an essential role which demanded specialised skills. The nature of this role is outlined, with reference to a staged model for knowledge transfer that emerged from the research project. The translator/interpreter role required gatekeepers to engage in active and continuous conversion of knowledge to meet the differing needs of a range of recipients. This helped to increase the overall absorptive capacity of participating organisations. Implications of these findings for research and practice are outlined. © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

THE SYNERGISTIC ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND INDIVIDUAL AMBIDEXTERITY IN OPEN INNOVATION: A MODERATED-MEDIATION MODEL

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (07) ◽  
pp. 2050083
Author(s):  
SIDDHARTH GAURAV MAJHI ◽  
SAURAV SNEHVRAT ◽  
SANJAY CHAUDHARY ◽  
ARINDAM MUKHERJEE
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Firm Boundary ◽  
Innovative Behaviour ◽  
Technology Managers

Managers employed in the dual gatekeeper-shepherd roles in open innovation contexts need to combine external knowledge inflows with existing internal knowledge to drive innovative work behaviour. This study explores how such managers leverage knowledge sources at the firm boundary, to drive innovation activities, by using their individual-level capabilities of absorptive capacity and ambidexterity. To collect data for the study, 121 technology managers employed in four large automotive equipment manufacturing firms in India were surveyed using an online questionnaire. Structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the direct, moderation and mediation relationships hypothesised in the study. The results demonstrate the synergistic roles played by individual absorptive capacity and individual ambidexterity in enhancing the innovative behaviour of managers operating in an open innovation context. This study contributes to the theory related to the understudied individual-level analyses of open innovation and offers recommendations for managers looking to increase their innovativeness at work.

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