The effects of internal and external innovation strategies on process innovation in Vietnamese firms

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the antecedents of process innovation to provide more alternates for Vietnamese firms as they are still struggling to find an appropriate innovation strategy. Design/methodology/approach The research analyzes the separate impacts of each innovation strategy on process innovation using logistic regression models. Data were collected using a stratified random sampling method. Findings The results show that having an innovation strategy is good for innovation, regardless of whether the strategy is internal or external. Internal and external strategies are proved not complements but substitutes. However, the internal strategy seems to be most beneficial. Weak institutional settings further strengthen the importance of internal strategies, whereas strong institutional settings favor external strategies. Originality/value This paper analyzes the impact of different innovation strategies on process innovation in Vietnamese firms using firm-level data. The findings strongly recommend that in weak institutional settings such as Vietnam, firms should focus on an internal strategy because the emphasis on external innovation strategies might be a western bias stemming from research in mostly strong institutional contexts.

Linking entrepreneurial leadership and innovation performance in hospitality firms: the roles of innovation strategy and knowledge acquisition

“…These activities should be guided by business strategies and should interact closely with related functional activities, including production, marketing and inventory management (Korper et al. , 2022; Phung et al. , 2021).…”

“…In addition, the majority of innovation activities in hospitality firms involve the improvement of existing processes, such as room booking or food serving processes (Lim, 2021). These activities should be guided by business strategies and should interact closely with related functional activities, including production, marketing and inventory management (Korper et al, 2022;Phung et al, 2021). When related innovation activities are prioritized and orchestrated by an innovation strategy (i.e.…”

Esfuerzos De Innovación Endógenos Y Exógenos, Innovación Y Productividad en Las Empresas Privadas Del Ecuador

“…Sin embargo, la mayor parte de estudios hasta la actualidad se han centrado en describir el proceso integral de la innovación, independientemente de la estrategia de innovación aplicada (Edeh y Acedo, 2021;Gong y Wang, 2021;Kahn et al, 2022). Las estrategias para realizar actividades de innovación pueden ser endógenas o exógenas (Phung et al 2021). La primera consiste en internalizar las actividades de innovación, mientras que las externas implica la adquisición de tecnología existente en el mercado y la cooperación con otros actores expertos en el campo.…”

“…Resultados similares se pueden encontrar en Badir et al (2020), Giacomarra et al (2021) y Nguyen et al (2021), quienes sugieren que una estrategia de innovación complementaria aumenta la capacidad de alcanzar innovaciones en economías emergentes. En contraste, Phung et al (2021) encuentra que las diferentes estrategias en innovación son sustitutos y que la estrategia endógena es más beneficiosa para la innovación.…”

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“…Moreover, research into innovation has focused more on product innovation than on process innovation, although both innovation strategies are equally important for long-term technological advancement and growth (Goel & Nelson, 2018). In the context of a developing country like Vietnam, where a majority of firms are small-and medium-sized with limited resources, firms may prioritize process innovation, aiming to change processes of manufacturing, management, or distribution to reduce related production costs (Phung et al, 2021). This study attempts to fill this gap by using secondary data from Vietnam to shed light on which capacity building activities contribute to firms' product/service and process innovation performance.…”