Science Research Management

Science Research Management ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (5): 116-123.

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The relationship between over-relational-embeddness and technological innovation of SMEs 

Wang Shilei1, Wang Fei1, Peng Xinmin2   

  1. 1. School of Management Engineering and Business, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056038,Hebei, China;
    2. Business School, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang, China
  • Received:2018-07-08 Revised:2018-11-19 Online:2021-05-20 Published:2021-05-19

Abstract:     SMEs face significant resource constraints during attempts to innovate. Network provide partners with superior information about each other, engender knowledge-based trust and, as a result, enforce tie stability and often become overly relational embedded. Exhibit greater resource similarity and marketing commonality have greater propensity to engage in interfirm rivalry. Lacking distinctive competitive advantage, the majority of SMEs therefore never create any discernible technologically innovative outcomes due to overly relational embeddness. However, evidence suggests that SMEs - despite typically being small and resource constrained - are sometimes able to innovate effectively.
    One promising theory that explicitly links to ways SMEs respond to resource constraints is bricolage. The definition of bricolage is "making do by applying combinations of the resources at hand to new problems and opportunities", provides an important pathway to achieve technological innovation for resource-constrained firms. Through a bias for action and a refusal to enact limitations on the resources that are available to create solutions, SMEs would tackle unexpected complex challenge, take advantage of opportunities, and go where most other firms won′t, in their attempts at technical innovation.
    Authors have generated list of firm attributes that may help firms to conceive of and implement innovation strategies. For purpose of this discussion, these numerous possible firm resources can be conveniently classified into two categories: physical resources and intellectual resources. Physical resources contain physical technology used in a firm, such as plants and facilities, its geographic location, and its access to raw materials. While intellectual resources have experience, intelligence, wisdom. Through physical resource bricolage and intellectual resource bricolage, firms under resource constraints are engage in the process of recombination that are core to creating innovative outcomes. In this paper, we draw on recent studies of bricolage to develop and test theory that suggests that by engaging in physical and intellectual resource bricolage, SMEs overly relational embedded may thereby improve their innovativeness. However, the mechanism needs to be deeply revealed.
     Data was collected from 269 SEMs, the empirical results show that over relational embeddness contributes to incremental technological innovation positively through physical bricolage, and shared vision significantly moderated the mediation effect. No general support for our competing hypothesis that the negative effects of bricolage on disruptive innovation was found. The result indicates that SMEs that overly relational embedded achieve technological innovation through physical bricolage and construction of shared vision. 
     The study has certain contribution in enriching the relevant theories of technological innovation, as well as offering evidence in helping SMEs achieve technological innovation. Contrary to common sense, over relational embeddness provides more opportunities for physical bricolage, making full use of the idle and single use physical resources to overcome the small and weakness of technological innovation of SMEs. In addition, the joint effect of shared vision and over relational embeddness greatly improves the quality of bricolage and enrich the resource, which helps to provide theoretical references for bricolage governance.
    This paper also has the following implications for management practices: Firstly, SMEs shall not prevent accepting the reality of asymmetric dependence, and establish the key ties with government, commercial banks, and scientific research institutes. What is more, the SMEs should fully exploit the idle sites, ineffectively used production equipment, unexplored technologies, and innovation potential, which challenged the SMEs. Secondly, shared vison provides bricolage orientation and meaning for SMEs and partners who are overly connected, care should be taken to ensure that shared vision is realistic and achievable to focus their energies and engage in technological innovation.

Key words: over-relational-embeddness；intellectual bricolage；physical bricolage, technological innovation；shared vision