Dusting Off the Knowledge Shelves: Recombinant Lag and the Technological Value of Inventions

Abstract

Whereas knowledge recombination research tends to focus on original knowledge component attributes and their recombinant value implications

Once bitten, not necessarily shy? Determinants of foreign market re-entry commitment strategies

“…Also, the existence of time-out may cast doubt on the usefulness of prior experiences and their applicability to re-entry strategy decisions. This is because past knowledge from the prior experience may dissipate during the time-out period, as generally only very recent knowledge and experiences tend to be successfully retrieved (Levitt and March, 1988;Kok, Faems and Faria, 2018). It is well documented in the learning literature that prior experience has a reduced impact where there are lapses in organisational decision-making (Feldman and Pentland, 2003;Levitt and March, 1988;Kok, Faems and Faria, 2018), such as those between exit and re-entry.…”

“…Hedberg (1981, p. 3) also stressed that '[k]nowledge grows, and simultaneously it becomes obsolete as reality changes'. Over time organisations learn new knowledge and discard obsolete knowledge from decision making, even if it is not disregarded from organisational memory (Hedberg, 1981;Kok, Faems and Faria, 2018). Disregarding prior knowledge and experiences can involve a process of reprioritising what is known by organisations to allow for the addition of novel and more relevant knowledge to be drawn from (de Holan and Philips, 2004;Cegarra-Navarro and Moya, 2005).…”

Place-dependence of renewable energy technologies

“…The importance of early entry is further corroborated by recent studies on the search behaviour of inventors and firms show that the utilization of emerging knowledge correlates with a higher technological impact of inventions (Capaldo et al, 2017;Kok et al, 2019;Mukherjee et al, 2017). Moreover, higher utilization rates of recent technologies are also associated with the improvement in performance, or the cost reduction of new technologies Magee, 2015, 2014).…”

When Do Expert Teams Fail to Create Impactful Inventions?

“…It is noteworthy that our results do not always align with prior research. We proffer these divergences may be explained by a frequently occurring conflation of arguments around knowledge maturity in terms of temporal lapse or recency (e.g., fit, nascent capability-building, risk of retaliation), familiarity (e.g., reliability, uniqueness, search costs), and time spread (combinatorial difficulties), as well as the transference of findings across units of analysis (e.g., Capaldo et al, 2017;Heeley and Jacobson, 2008;Katila, 2002;Katila and Ahuja, 2002;Katila and Chen, 2008;Kok et al, 2018;Nerkar, 2003). Researchers could clarify the confusion by investigating knowledge age, recency of use, time spread, and repeated use across units of analysis and across contexts to identify possible universal or contingent effects between time and invention outcomes.…”