Abstract:     Existing research has failed to reveal from the perspective of corporate capabilities the antecedents of network partner diversity, and the contextual conditions under which network partner diversity affects innovation performance, that is, what capabilities a firm should have to achieve network partner diversity and obtain innovation benefits from it is still an unsolved theoretical mystery. Based on the perspective of network capabilities, this study empirically tests the influence of network capabilities (network partner selection capability, network partner coordination capability) on network partner diversity, as well as on the relationship between network partner diversity and innovation performance.  
   The sample comes from the 500 companies disclosed in the "2019 China Listed Companies Innovation Index Report". The patent information of the sample companies comes from the patent search and analysis database of China National Intellectual Property Administration and Baiteng.com. The network partner information comes from the company′s official website, annual reports, news media interviews, and information disclosed in financial magazines. The specific information is searched with such keywords as strategic cooperation, overseas cooperation, external cooperation, cooperation agreement, hand in hand, seeking common development. The control variable data are all from the company′s annual report and official website. The data of network partner selection capability and network partner coordination capability are collected in the form of questionnaire survey. The questionnaires are sent to senior executives responsible for innovation and external cooperation. Three rounds of email and telephone interviews are used to supervise the completion and return of questionnaires, and finally 174 valid questionnaires are returned (effective rate 34.8%).
    The findings show that network partner selection capability positively affects network partner diversity, while positively moderates the relationship between network partner diversity and innovation performance. This shows that the influence of partner selection capability before network formation on network partner diversity is reflected in two aspects: on the one hand identify partners and establish cooperative relations before network formation, on the other hand use resources from diversified network partner to form innovative synergy after the network is formed. The results also show that network partner coordination capability has no significant impact on network partner diversity, but positively moderates the relationship between partner diversity and innovation performance. The reason may be that the key of building diversified network partnerships is to select partners and establish win-win cooperative relationships. It is a long process to establish a diversified network system. In the early stage of cooperation, there will not be too many communication and coordination barriers, so the communication and coordination capability are not required. However, in the process of utilizing the resources of diversified partners, firms cannot avoid the target difference and ubiquitous cultural and interest conflicts among diversified partners, and then firm′s coordination capability will play an important role. Firms with strong coordination capability are better able to resolve conflicts among diversified partners, integrate resources to form synergy, and maximize the innovation effect of diversified network partners. This study contributes to the literature on the antecedents of network partner diversity and the innovation conditions of network partner diversity, while has practical enlightenment for firms to build diversified network and utilize diversified partner resources.

Key words:  network capability, network partner selection capability, network partner coordination capability, network partner diversity, innovation performance