External innovation search strategies and product innovations in industrial clusters of new ventures

Wu Aiqi; Li Shengxiao

PDF(977 KB)

Science Research Management ›› 2012, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (7) : 1-7.

External innovation search strategies and product innovations in industrial clusters of new ventures

Wu Aiqi¹, Li Shengxiao²

Author information +

History +

Abstract

Shifting from over emphasis on larger companies inside and outside the region to give importance to new ventures is a new approach for industrial cluster upgrading. Based on the sample firms from Zhejiang Province, the theory of entrepreneurship and innovation search are drawn on, the impact of external innovation search on new ventures’ product innovation in industrial clusters is examined. The results show that there are four different external innovation search strategies for new ventures and they affect new ventures’ product innovation in different ways. Global search breadth contributes to product innovation, local search depth is nonlinear related to product innovation, and other search strategies affect new ventures’ product innovation insignificantly. Theoretical contribution and practice implication are also discussed.

Key words

clustered new venture / innovation search / product innovation / industrial cluster upgrade

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Wu Aiqi, Li Shengxiao. External innovation search strategies and product innovations in industrial clusters of new ventures[J]. Science Research Management. 2012, 33(7): 1-7

References

[1] Gilbert, B.A., McDougall, P.P., and Audretsch, D.B. Clusters, Knowledge Spillovers and New Venture Performance: An Empirical Examination [J]. Journal of Business Venturing, 2008, 23 (4): 405 422.
[2] Covin, J., and Slevin, D. Strategic Management of Small Firms in Hostile and Benign Environments [J]. Strategic Management Journal, 1989,10(1): 75-87.
[3] Schmitz, H. Learning and Earning in Global Garment and Footwear Chains [J]. The European Journal of Development Research, 2006, 18(4): 546-571.
[4] Nelson, R.R., and Winter, S. An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change [M]. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 1982.
[5] Stinchcombe, A.L. Social Structure and Organizations [M]. In J. G. March (ed.) Handbook of Organizations. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally, 1965.
[6] Katila, R., and Ahuja, G. Something Old, Something New: A Longitudinal Study of Search Behavior and New Product Introduction [J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2002, 45(8): 1183-1194.
[7] Laursen, K., and Salter, A. Open for Innovation: The Role of Openness in Explaining Innovation Performance among UK Manufacturing Firms [J]. Strategic Management Journal, 2006, 27(2): 131-150.
[8] Nonaka, I., Toyama, R., and Nagata, A. A Firm as a Knowledge-creating Entity: A New Perspective on the Theory of the Firm [J]. Journal of Industrial and Corporate Change, 2000, 9 (1): 1-20.
[9] Schoonhoven, C.B., Eisenhardt, K.M., and Lyman, K. Speeding Products to Market: Waiting Time to First Product Introduction in New Firms [J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1990, 35(1): 177207.
[10] Brusoni, S., Prencipe, A., and Pavitt, K.L.R. Knowledge Specialization and the Boundaries of the Firm: Why Do Firms Know More than They Make? [J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2001, 46(4): 597-621.
[11] Pittaway, L., Robertson, M., Munir, K., Denyer, D., and Neely, A. Networking and Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature [J]. International Journal of Management Review, 2004, 5/6(3/4): 137-168.
[12] Eisenhardt, K.M., and Tabrizi, B.N. Accelerating Adaptive Processes: Product Innovation in the Global Computer Industry [J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1995, 40(1): 84-110.
[13] Dyer, J.H., and Singh, H. The Relational View: Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Interorganizational Competitive Advantage [J]. Academy of Management Review, 1998, 23(4): 600-679.
[14] Dosi, G.. Sources, Procedures, and Microeconomic Effects of Innovation [J]. Journal of Economic Literature, 1989, 26(3): 1120-1171.
[15] Belussi, F., and Arcangeli, F.A Typology of Networks: Flexible and Evolutionary Firms [J]. Research Policy, 1998, 27(4): 415-428.
[16] Krafft, R. Entry, Exit and Knowledge: Evidence from a Cluster in the Info-communications Industry [J]. Research Policy, 2004, 33(10): 1687-1706.
[17] Eisenhardt, K.M., and Martin, J.A. Dynamic Capabilities: what are they? [J]. Strategic Management Journal, 2000, 21(10-11): 1105-1121.
[18] Armstrong, J.S., and Overton, T.S. Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys [J]. Journal of Marketing Research, 1977, 14(3): 396-402.
[19] Zhang, Y., and Li, H.Y. Innovation Search of New Ventures in a Technology Cluster: The Role of Ties with Service Intermediaries [J]. Strategic Management Journal, 2010, 31(1): 88-109.
[20] Grimpe, C., and Sofka, W. Search Patterns and Absorptive Capacity: Low- and High-Technology Sectors in European Countries [J]. Research Policy, 2009, 38 (3): 495 506.