Partners' knowledge utilization and exploratory innovation: the moderating effect of competitive and collaborative relationships

Abstract

PurposePartners' knowledge is an essential source of knowledge for organizations in the collaborative innovation. Exploratory innovation is an innovation strategy that is significant to the organization and is characterized by learning and absorbing new knowledge for new products and technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and to analyze further the moderating effect of previous competitive and collaborative relationships between organizations on the above relationships.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the patent data of 1,636 organizations in the nano-biopharmaceutical field collaboratively from 1998 to 2020 are used as a sample. The knowledge networks and collaboration networks are constructed through the patent data. A negative binomial regression method is used to conduct the empirical study.FindingsThe results indicate that partners' knowledge utilization has an inverted U-shaped effect on exploratory innovation. The competitive relationship steepens the inverted U-shape effect of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and makes the turning point to the left. The collaborative relationship steepens the inverted U-shape effect of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and makes the turning point to the right.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the impact of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and to explore the role of the competitive and collaborative relationships between organizations. It extends current research in organizational innovation and knowledge management by providing insight into partners' knowledge utilization.

Firm innovation: technological boundary-spanning search and knowledge base and distance

“…Specifically, external technical knowledge plays a significant role in exploratory innovation. This is because exploratory innovation often involves technical knowledge MD 62,1 that spans different fields (Xiao and Bao, 2022). According to Boyer et al (2021), acquiring external technical knowledge can reduce the disadvantages of knowledge inertia, increase the mobility of technical knowledge within the organization and unlock new innovation paths.…”

Digital Transformation and Corporate Sustainability: The Moderating Effect of Ambidextrous Innovation

“…It manifests in the search for new areas of opportunity to facilitate the cross-fertilization and generation of new knowledge [54]. A high level of exploratory innovation illustrates the expansion of a firm's knowledge base, which means that firms have sufficient potential to apply new technologies and develop new routes, have greater opportunities to enter emerging markets, and seize new opportunities [55], while offering great possibilities for the application of digital technologies in firms. Developing new markets, products, and services through exploratory innovation has been a major step for enterprises to break out of the existing technological orbit and gain a competitive advantage and sustainability [56], which serves to provide a strong guarantee for successful and effective DT by applying new digital technologies.…”

A Systematic Literature Review of Accounting Information Systems Implementation Success Factors

“…Innovativeness, defined as the ability to introduce new processes, products, or ideas, significantly impacts organizational performance (Hult et al, 2004). Collaborative relationships and knowledge utilization among partners can notably influence exploratory innovation within organizations (Xiao & Bao, 2022). Additionally, the Research and Development (R&D) department is essential for fostering innovativeness through the introduction of new products and ideas (Engelen & Brettel, 2012).…”