Technovation最新文献

Complexities in external knowledge evaluation present significant “limits” to open innovation (OI), challenging decision making in the processes of searching, accessing, and using external knowledge for recombination, which are central to the OI paradigm. Grounded in the theory of attitudes, this study investigates the role of standardization in preventing the negative behavioral influence of “not invented here” (NIH) and “not-shared-here” (NSH) attitudes on knowledge search and sourcing decisions by debiasing decisional paths associated with reluctance to adopt OI. Using hurdle model estimations on 600 small-and medium-sized enterprises, the results of the study reveal that NIH and NSH attitudes are the origin of decision-making biases at different stages of OI implementation, where external knowledge is the focus of evaluation. Proactive standardization efforts are shown to be effective in countering the impact of NIH and NSH attitudes on knowledge sourcing decisions and on the intensity of knowledge sourcing, typically leading to bounded search, inward decisions, and anticipated termination of projects. This study provides insights into the influence of standardization efforts specifically addressing challenges related to the evaluation of external knowledge, where the likelihood of failure is higher and associated costs are significant.

New processes significantly affect firms and workers; however, due to a lack of quantitative metrics, our understanding of the measures, determinants, and impacts of new processes remains limited. Drawing on unique data from Pakistan, we analyze five different metrics of process innovation output: cost reduction, defect rate reduction, reduction in production cycle time, increase in production capacity, and improvement in product quality. We find that the breadth and depth of innovative capabilities, level of competition, and availability of market sources of knowledge are important inducers of process innovation, and that smaller firms are more likely to introduce new processes and are better able to transform them into higher output. All five process innovation outputs are associated with higher labor productivity and sales expansion; however, there is considerable heterogeneity in the size of these impacts. We did not find that adopting new processes led to lower employment.

This paper explores the creation and development process of an accelerator by a European business university, investigating the factors that led the university to found its own accelerator and that guided its set up process in terms of choice of focal activities and governance structure, as well as the mechanisms through which it creates value for its internal and external ecosystem. Relying on an in-depth case study approach, we conducted several interviews with members of the accelerator, key university stakeholders, and external partners. Our empirical evidence points to the existence of both internal and external drivers that led to the emergence of the university accelerator and suggests that its operating and governance structures were strategically designed to leverage the university’s internal strengths and resources and to balance integration and autonomy needs. It also underscores the key roles played by the top management of the university and by the internal champion in aligning views, building consensus, and negotiating solutions in this process. Finally, it reveals how by strategically orchestrating the relationships with internal and external stakeholders a university accelerator can build internal and external legitimacy and successfully balance the need of creating value for both the university and the broader ecosystem in which it operates.

This study explores how knowledge ecosystems (KEs) led by a knowledge broker (KB) can support the digital transformation of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). By employing an exploratory research design and action research methodology, the paper proposes and applies an analytical framework to investigate the characteristics of KEs and the knowledge managed by the KB as the innovation intermediary acting as leader of the KE The case study selected uncovers the dimensions of a regional KE guided by a digital innovation hub (DIH) supporting MSMEs towards the adoption of the “Digital Artisan platform” deriving from an Industry 4.0 project.

The findings highlight the importance of trust, strategic alignment, and dynamic capabilities of KBs in enhancing MSMEs' digital journey and emphasize the location dimension of the regional KE as a means for providing tailored support. This research contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of regional KEs enabling the digital transformation through KBs who are the innovation intermediaries covering the role of leaders of the ecosystem.

The impact of digital transformation (DT) on open innovation (OI) has attracted growing interest. However, the nuanced effects of various forms of coupled OI on innovation outcomes remain underexplored. This study aims to investigate the differential impacts of coupled OI modes on innovation performance within the context of DT driven by Industry 4.0 technologies. To test the hypotheses, we used Heckman's two-stage estimation utilizing the Korean Innovation Survey 2022. The findings reveal that collaborative activities as coupled OI modes positively impact innovation performance. Furthermore, the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies amplifies the positive impact of research and development (R&D) collaborations on business process innovation while diminishing the positive effect of non-R&D collaborations on new product development. This study's contribution to the literature lies in its finding that the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies can only be beneficial to firms when DT guides the focal firm on being more cooperative in R&D collaboration activities and therefore helps focal firms to use innovation opportunities efficiently and more rapidly and to innovate diverse business processes. In practice, a firm should have sufficient capabilities to rigorously analyze DT-adoption data to capture market needs.

Technologically illiterate users are frequently excluded from access to technology and its benefits, creating a digital divide. Some groups of older adults are among those considered technologically illiterate and experiencing vulnerability. For this population, traditional technologies that require physical interactions have proven to be stressful and create a phenomenon known as ‘technophobia’. Herein lies the potential value of touchless technologies such as voice assistants, which may offer a new avenue for older adult inclusion. Thus, our study delves deep into the lifeworld of older people to understand how voice assistants can impact inclusion and well-being. Adopting a longitudinal approach, we observed and interviewed participants (n = 32) in their homes, augmenting this qualitative data with secondary data from voice assistant device reports. Our initial results show that older people perceived the effect of illiteracy in their first encounter with the technology, but over time, they learnt to overcome initial challenges and started building relationships with artificial intelligence. In the final part of the study, participants identified the value of using technology and recognised that technology ‘is not the boogeyman’ but rather enables tech-inclusion and well-being. Under the lens of transformative service research, we provide a framework that illustrates how artificial intelligence is healing older people's digital divide, showing core elements of inclusion (access to new technology, support with activities, sense of participation, independence, convenience and source of information), and well-being (sense of pride, entertainment option, eased loneliness, improved self-esteem).

The excitement surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) is palpable. It is rapidly gaining prevalence in academia, business, and personal use. In particular, the emergence of generative AI, exemplified by large language models such as ChatGPT, has been marked by substantial media attention, discourse, and hype. Like most, if not all, aspects of business, innovation processes have been impacted. However, little is known about the degree of impact or the benefits that might be gained. To cut through the hype and understand the use of AI in innovation processes in businesses today, a large-scale survey amongst innovation managers in the USA was conducted, followed by interviews. The findings indicate that the use of AI in innovation processes is high and widespread, with AI being used for more than half of the surveyed firms' innovation projects. Furthermore, AI is used more in the development stage of the innovation process than in the idea or commercialization stages, which counters much of the existing discourse, which focuses on the idea stage. We uncover interesting differences by comparing the use and impact of generative AI with that of more traditional AI. Among these is a significant difference in expected benefits in making employees’ jobs more fulfilling — managers believe generative AI is more likely to confer this benefit than traditional AI. This paper offers two valuable contributions. First, it enriches the evolving dialogue at the intersection of AI and innovation management by offering much-needed empirical evidence about practical applications. Second, it provides timely managerial implications by examining relationships between the use of AI and innovation performance and understanding the benefits that AI can confer in the innovation process.

Prior literature has long recognized the substantial economic value that patents hold in the market. Yet, we know much less about the valuation process, i.e., how market audiences estimate (or determine) the value of newly granted patents. Building on behavioral economics, we propose the anchoring effect as an important cognitive mechanism, such that a patent's valuation is anchored on the value that preceding patents have secured. Analyzing financial valuation of U.S. patents between 1991 and 2010, we find broad support to the anchoring effect. The effect is more pronounced when focal patents are of lower novelty, when prior anchors are more consistent, and when focal firms have a higher patenting frequency. Furthermore, our extensional analysis suggests that anchoring acts as an important driver for the divergence between patents' economic value and scientific quality, which deserves attention from firms and policy makers.

This study investigates inter-firm relationships’ distinct impacts on entrepreneurial proactiveness (EP) and exploitative innovation strategy. Although the existing literature on entrepreneurs’ innovation strategies has consistently found a positive relationship between EP and exploration, the mechanisms underlying the inconsistent relationship between EP and exploitative innovation strategy remain unclear. We anticipate that applying brokerage position in network theory would offer further insights into the relationship between EP and exploitative innovation strategy. Additionally, we introduced depth of openness as a moderating variable and examined its effect on the moderated mediation relationship. To test hypotheses, this study utilized linear and logistic regression, bootstrapping, and the Johnson-Neyman technique. The findings of the 2020 Korean Innovation Survey, conducted by the Science and Technology Policy Institute, indicate that data from 2352 Korean manufacturing companies exhibits that the brokerage position mediates EP and exploitative innovation strategy. Moreover, the depth of openness mitigated the positive relationship between the brokerage position and the exploitative innovation strategy and the indirect effect of EP on exploitative innovation strategy through the brokerage position. These findings contribute theoretically to entrepreneurial orientation and underscore the practical significance of aligning company goals with social relationships.

While existing literature acknowledges the role of science fiction in foreseeing technological advancements, a notable gap persists in understanding the underlying factors that drive or hinder individuals from the intention to generate and promote ideas gathered through science fiction. Our research model aims to shed novel light on what factors influence employees’ propensity to generate and promote ideas inspired by science fiction, through the lenses of institutional theory. Purposefully, we frame science fiction methodologies inside the Innovative Work Behavior discourse, as science fiction could be a fruitful tool to generate and promote ideas, and we investigate the interplay of rational and institutional influences on such behaviors. The findings provide valuable insights that can be leveraged to design and implement effective methodologies within organizational settings. Our study, based on data from 480 employees, employs Structural Equation Modeling to reveal the pivotal role of normative influence in idea generation, while idea promotion exhibits a robust association with cultural-cognitive influence, pinpointing the dual phase of science fiction methodologies.