Abstract
Recent innovation and strategy research emphasizes the importance of firm’s search for external knowledge to improve innovation performance. We focus on such search strategies within the domain of sustainable innovation in which probl
ems are inherently complex and the relevant knowledge is widely dispersed. As a
result, firms frequently collaborate with international partners. We shed new light on collaborative search strategies led by firms in general and for solving environmental problems in particular. Both topics are largely absent in the extant open innovation literature. Using data from the European Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development, our results indicate that the problem solving potential of a search strategy increases with the diversity of existing knowledge of the partners in a consortium and with the
experience of the partners involved. Moreover, we identify a substantial negative effect from involving partners in a search consortium who collaborate for the first time. Our findings have implications for both the literature on firms’ search and the creation of sustainable innovation.
ems are inherently complex and the relevant knowledge is widely dispersed. As a
result, firms frequently collaborate with international partners. We shed new light on collaborative search strategies led by firms in general and for solving environmental problems in particular. Both topics are largely absent in the extant open innovation literature. Using data from the European Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development, our results indicate that the problem solving potential of a search strategy increases with the diversity of existing knowledge of the partners in a consortium and with the
experience of the partners involved. Moreover, we identify a substantial negative effect from involving partners in a search consortium who collaborate for the first time. Our findings have implications for both the literature on firms’ search and the creation of sustainable innovation.
Original language | English |
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Publication date | 2015 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Event | AIB 2015 Annual Meeting: Global Networks:Organizations and People - Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), Bengaluru, India Duration: 27 Jun 2015 → 30 Jun 2015 Conference number: 57 https://aib.msu.edu/events/2015/ |
Conference
Conference | AIB 2015 Annual Meeting |
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Number | 57 |
Location | Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) |
Country/Territory | India |
City | Bengaluru |
Period | 27/06/2015 → 30/06/2015 |
Internet address |