Interactions Between Innovation and Digital Transformation: A Co-Word Analysis

Abstract

Recent literature suggests there is a natural connection between innovation and digital transformation, two key topics of interest in management and organization that have spawned large, independent and well-defined areas of study. While this connection might be analytically straightforward and notable examples are not hard to find, in everyday life, it materializes in a multiplicity of ways. A need emerges, then, to better understand the interaction between innovation and digital transformation so that it can be explored and exploited by actors in academia and the public, private and third sectors. In this article, we use a co-word analysis, a text mining technique that permits to systematically map the intellectual structure of a research field, to characterize the most notable dynamics of 'innovation-driven digitalization' and 'digitalized innovation'-the two major dimensions of interaction between innovation and digital transformation. The text identifies the relevant themes, subthemes and concepts that appear in the literature, as well as their relationship and level of development. It, then, aggregates them in a taxonomy that, on the one hand, readily displays their connection and, on the other hand, (i) informs about current or potential controversies, (ii) gaps, (iii) lines for novel and further research, and (iv) alternatives to bridge to other areas of study.

Unveiling the intellectual structure of informality: Insights from the socioeconomic literature

“…A thesaurus (controlled vocabulary) was built to filter each data set (macro and meso), according to the following rules [ 25 ]: (i) standardization of singular and plural words (e.g., settlement into settlements); (ii) combination of equivalent expressions in American and British English (e.g., urbanization into urbanization); (iii) integration of acronyms with their corresponding full names (e.g., non-governmental organizations into ngos); (iv) normalization of hyphenated expressions (e.g., neoliberalism into neo-liberalism); (v) reduction of synonymous expressions (e.g., small enterprise into small firm); (vi) stemming of derived words in justified cases (e.g., flooding into flood), and (vii) elimination of references to the territory (e.g., Latin America, India), research methodologies (e.g., case study, ethnography), and irrelevant words (e.g. informality, informal).…”

The impact of the interaction of independent and cooperative innovation on firm digitization: the moderating role of managerial discretion

“…Previous research has explored the antecedents of enterprise digitization both internally and externally (Chen and Tian, 2022; Luo and Yu, 2022; Huang et al ., 2023). Regarding internal factors, such as the chief executive officer (CEO) background, directors and officers liability insurance, internationalization of the top management team (TMT), leadership, information technology investments, open innovation, exploratory innovation, and dynamic capabilities, they play an important role in company digital development (Kane et al ., 2015; Porfírio et al ., 2021; Gómez-Cruz et al ., 2022; Luo and Yu, 2022; Zhu et al ., 2022; Chen et al ., 2023; Chung and Kim, 2023; Zhang et al ., 2023a, b; Luan et al ., 2024). Regarding external factors, such as market competition, digital technology, intellectual property protection, government policies, and tax incentives, they are also related to digital development (Chen and Tian, 2022; Luo and Yu, 2022; Zhu et al ., 2022).…”

“…Although research on the antecedents of enterprise digitization is extensive, some important factors remain neglected, such as less research on the impact of the interaction of internal and external factors on enterprise digitization (Zhang et al ., 2023a, b), especially the interaction between internal innovation (independent innovation) and external innovation (cooperative innovation) (Xu and Zhang, 2008; Hagedoorn and Wang, 2012; Zhang et al ., 2019; Delgado-Verde et al ., 2021; Huang et al ., 2023; Luan et al ., 2024; Lee et al ., 2024). Although existing studies have explored the impact of innovation on firm digitization (Gómez-Cruz et al ., 2022; Chen et al ., 2023; Chung and Kim, 2023; Huang et al ., 2023; Luan et al ., 2024), only the impact of open innovation and exploratory innovation on digitization has been explored (Huang et al ., 2023; Luan et al ., 2024). Considering that in the context of open innovation, numerous firms have been building their innovation capabilities by simultaneously pursuing both internal and external innovations (Hagedoorn and Wang, 2012; Howard et al ., 2016; Del Vecchio et al ., 2020; Xie et al ., 2023), this omission appears crucial.…”

“…First, it anticipates digitization by combining independent innovation and cooperative innovation. Previous studies have explored the role of open and exploratory innovation for digitization (Gómez-Cruz et al ., 2022; Huang et al ., 2023; Luan et al ., 2024), but less attention has been paid to the interaction of various innovation strategies. Therefore, based on resource constraint theory, this study explores the impact of the interaction between independent and cooperative innovation on enterprise digitization, a finding that provides a useful addition to the study of the relationship between firm innovation and digitization (Laursen and Salter, 2006; Hess and Rothaermel, 2011; Kane et al ., 2015; Chen and Tian, 2022; Luo and Yu, 2022; Huang et al ., 2023).…”

Driving Digital Transformation: Addressing the Barriers to Engagement in University-Industry Collaboration

“…Most organisations today are on a journey of digital transformation, aspiring for digital excellence in their areas of expertise [1]. An important aspect of such a transformation is the principle of innovation [2] and specifically, open innovation, a term that was first coined by Henry Chesbrough in 2006. Open innovation means that companies move away from the principle of only creating knowledge inhouse, to also acquire knowledge from external sources, for example from academia.…”