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The present article aims to investigate the quality of the relationships in a business partnership for a project in Medtech field and the components that most influence them, with special attention to relational capabilities (RCs). Dyadic relationships and mainly RCs are considered critical factors for the success of a partnership.

A case study was used to evaluate the influence of RC on the progress of an alliance between a start-up and a small and medium scale enterprise (SME). The evaluation is performed using a questionnaire. To highlight such progress, the same questions were asked at the start of the partnership and one year later. The results were compared to analyse the improvement of RC and draw conclusions on the correlation between RC and alliance performance.

The method adopted allowed for a clear identification of the criticalities of the partnership. The authors found evidence that poor RCs lead to confusion, a sense of exclusion and a lack of collaboration amongst members. Results confirmed that increased RC and aligning the allies' capabilities positively affect the alliance's performance.

Exogenous variables influencing the partnership's progress were not included in the present study. Future research may consider them.

Limited prior research is available on collaboration between SME and start-ups. The present authors aim to investigate the topic further, investigating RCs between firms. The article is also a starting point for future case study comparisons.

Existing studies have paid less attention to the impact of knowledge accumulation on digital transformation and its boundary conditions. Hence, this study aims to investigate the effects of ambidextrous knowledge accumulation on manufacturing digital transformation under the moderation of dynamic capability.

This study divides knowledge accumulation into exploratory and exploitative knowledge accumulation and divides dynamic capability into alliance management capability and new product development capability. To clarify the relationship among ambidextrous knowledge accumulation, dynamic capability and manufacturing digital transformation, the authors collect data from 421 Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises from 2016 to 2020 and perform analysis by multiple hierarchical regression method, heterogeneity test and robustness analysis.

The empirical results show that both exploratory and exploitative knowledge accumulation can significantly promote manufacturing digital transformation. Keeping ambidextrous knowledge accumulation in parallel is more conducive than keeping single-dimensional knowledge accumulation. Besides, dynamic capability positively moderates the relationship between ambidextrous knowledge accumulation and manufacturing digital transformation. Moreover, the heterogeneity test shows that the impact of ambidextrous knowledge accumulation and dynamic capabilities on manufacturing digital transformation varies widely across different industry segments or different regions.

First, this paper shifts attention to the role of ambidextrous knowledge accumulation in manufacturing digital transformation and expands the connotation and extension of knowledge accumulation. Second, this study reveals that dynamic capability is a vital driver of digital transformation, which corroborates the previous findings of dynamic capability as an important driver and contributes to enriching the knowledge management literature. Third, this paper provides a comprehensive micro measurement of ambidextrous knowledge accumulation and digital transformation based on the development characteristics of the digital economy era, which provides a theoretical basis for subsequent research.

Research on strategic alliances is concerned with two issues: continuation and reconfiguration. Building on prior research that examines the two issues separately, the paper studies them simultaneously. This paper aims to investigate how strategic alliances may exert the synergetic effect between dynamics and stability as well as to discuss the dynamic evolution process and influence factors of strategic alliances.

This paper describes the construction of a two-party evolutionary game model of alliance and partners. The model is used to analyze the evolution process of synergetic mechanism to determine when to terminate and when to continue with a partnership. Further, numerical simulation is used to quantify the results and to gain insight into the effects of various factors on the dynamic evolution of the synergetic mechanism.

This paper reveals several synergetic states of dynamics and stability in the alliances. The results show that synergy states are positively affected by the collaborative innovation benefits, alliance management capability, the intensity of intellectual property protection, liquidated damages and reputation losses, and negatively affected by the absorptive capacity of partners.

The study helps the alliance to achieve long-term development as well as to balance the paradoxical relationship. The results suggest that managers of strategic alliances should focus on building strong and long-term relationships in order to achieve high performance innovations. Managers should also pay close attention to their partners’ behaviors in previous alliances.

This paper provides new insights into the paradoxical relationship in alliance by revealing the evolution of synergetic mechanism between dynamics and stability. The results remind alliances to understand the relationship between dynamics and stability and to notice the influence factors of synergistic effects when they are making decisions.

The literature has suggested that capabilities have been used to generate performance and competitive advantage, especially in industries with higher technological dynamism in developed economies. However, knowledge of the topic still needs to be systematically analyzed in agribusiness. Thus, this article fills this gap because it systematically reviews the literature on agribusiness capabilities and performance, classifies and codifies its characteristics, and determines what is known and what gaps there are in the knowledge regarding these subjects.

A systematic literature review of agribusiness capabilities and performance was conducted based on Cronin et al. (2008) protocol. Thirty-six articles from the WoS and Scopus databases were identified and analyzed.

This article identified, classified and coded 12 capabilities agribusiness firms employ to improve performance. This article reveals several gaps regarding capabilities and performance in agribusiness, especially emphasizing commodity products, in addition to studies with fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, meat, agricultural inputs and biofuels. It was also found that higher-order capabilities are more strongly related to performance than lower-order capabilities, that the performance benefits conferred by capabilities are more evident in developing economies, and that the relationship between capabilities and performance is more robust in agribusinesses with lower levels of technological dynamism.

This paper contributes to the debate about agribusiness capabilities and performance in three aspects. First, it systematically reviews the literature on these subjects; second, it classifies and codifies agribusiness capabilities and performance characteristics; third, it provides a research agenda on the theme.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether repeated alliances between two members of a patent pool boost enterprise innovation. Furthermore, this paper intends to determine whether the innovation performance becomes higher or lower based on the partnership characteristics.

In this empirical study, hierarchical regression is used to analyze the longitudinal data obtained from 12 patent pools managed by MPEG LA during a time period ranging from 2006 to 2018. The members of patent pools comprise research institutions, firms and universities. Research analyses are performed based on a sample of 68,400 member pairs who had established repeated alliances. The information regarding such pairs is gathered from public databases.

Repeated alliances positively correlate with enterprise innovation performance in patent pools; this performance is higher when the two enterprises have exploratory collaborations. Conversely, the performance is lower when the partners have a similar technology base and are engaged in a technological competition (competitive learning and patent litigation). Moreover, the performance is lower when one partner demonstrates higher network centrality and richer structural holes than the other partner.

Patent pools play an instrumental role in eliminating patent-licensing barriers, thereby allowing mutual acquisition of complementary technologies, and cooperatively strengthening technology development. From the perspective of theories of coopetition, knowledge management and social network, this study explores the impact of patent pools on enterprise innovation performance and ascertains the moderating roles of technology coopetition, technology similarity and network position, thereby expanding the scope of innovation effect in the context of patent pools.

This paper aims to explore the significance of resource sharing in business to capture new market opportunities and securing competitive advantages. Firms enter strategic alliances (SAs), especially for designing new products and to overcome challenges in today’s fast changing environment. Research projects have dealt with the creation of SAs, however without concrete referencing the impact on selected supply chain resources. Furthermore, academia rather focused on elaborating the advantages and disadvantages of SAs and how this affects structural changes in the organization than examining the effects on supply chain complexity and performance.

The authors collected and triangulated a multi-industry data set containing primary data coming from more than 200 experts in the field of supply chain management along and secondary data coming from Refinitiv’s joint ventures (JVs) and SA database and IR solutions’ database for annual reports. The data is evaluated in three empirical settings using binomial testing and structural equation modeling.

The results show that nonequity SAs and JVs have varying degrees of impact on supply chain resources due to differences in the scope of the partnership. This has a negative impact on the complexity of the supply chain, with the creation of a JV leading to greater complexity than the creation of a nonequity SA. Furthermore, the findings prove that complexity negatively impacts overall supply chain performance. In addition, this study elaborates that increased management capabilities are needed to exploit the potentials of SAs and sheds light on hurdles that must be overcome within the supply network when forming a partnership. Finally, the authors give practical implications on how organizations can cope with increasing complexity to lower the risk of poor supply chain performance.

This study investigates occurring challenges when establishing nonequity SAs or JVs and how this affects their supply chain by examining supply networks in terms of complexity and performance.

This study aims to investigate how international entrepreneurial firms (IEFs) successfully commercialise innovative products/services internationally. In doing so, the authors examined the role played by the international dynamic marketing capability (IDMC) in the relationship between explorative and exploitative innovation and commercialisation. In addition, the authors also evaluated how the breadth and depth of international networks facilitate IEFs in upholding the effects of the IDMC to influence commercialisation.

To test the research model, structural equation modelling is used based on time-lagged survey data drawn from 201 Malaysian IEFs. To validate the results, additional robustness tests and endogeneity analyses have been performed.

The findings show that the IDMC positively mediates the relationship between explorative and exploitative innovation and commercialisation. Furthermore, the finding exhibits that the effects of the IDMC on commercialisation are positively moderated by the breadth and depth of international networks.

Given the fragmented and general nature of the extant marketing research on the IDMC, the study contributes to the international marketing literature by providing rich and nuanced pertinent knowledge. This study advances dynamic capability theory in relation to IEFs by establishing the IDMC as a functional capability suited to enable them to successfully commercialise the products/services resulting from explorative and exploitative innovation.

With the deep development of the new technological revolution and industrial transformation, the development, application, expansion and integration of digital technology provide opportunities for transforming the manufacturing industry from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. However, little research currently focuses on analyzing the influencing factors of intelligent development in this field. There is a lack of research from the perspective of the digital innovation ecosystem to explore the intrinsic mechanism that drives intelligent development. Therefore, this article starts with high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises as the research subject to explore how their digital innovation ecosystem promotes the effectiveness of enterprise intelligent development, providing theoretical support and policy guidance for enterprises to achieve intelligent development at the current stage.

This article constructs a logical framework for the digital innovation ecosystem using a “three-layer core-periphery” structure, collects data using crawling for subsequent indicator measurement and assessment and uses the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis method (fsQCA) to explore how the various components of the digital innovation ecosystem in high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises work together to promote the development of enterprise intelligently.

This article finds that the various components of the digital innovation ecosystem of high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises, through mutual coordination, can help improve the level of enterprise intelligence. Empirical analysis shows four specific configuration implementation paths for the digital innovation ecosystem of high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises to promote intelligent development. The core conditions and their combinations that affect the intelligent development of enterprises differ in each configuration path.

Firstly, this article discusses the practical problems of intelligent transformation and development in the manufacturing industry and focuses on the intelligent development effectiveness of various components of the digital innovation ecosystem of high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises in the context of digitalization. Secondly, this article uses crawling, text sentiment analysis and other methods to creatively collect relevant data to overcome the research dilemma of being limited to theoretical analysis due to the difficulty in obtaining data in this field. At the same time, based on the characteristics of high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises, the “three-layer core-periphery” digital innovation ecosystem framework constructed in this article helps to gain a deep understanding of the development characteristics of the industry's enterprises, provides specific indicator analysis for their intelligent development, opening the “black box” of intelligent development in the industry's enterprises and bridging the gap between theory and practice. Finally, this study uses the fsQCA research method of configuration analysis to explore the complexity of the antecedents and investigate the combined effects of multiple factors on intelligent development, providing new perspectives and rich research results for relevant literature on the intelligent development of high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises.

This study aims to examine the dimensions of technological innovation capability (TIC) and associated factors from the perspectives of sustainability.

The authors have systematically reviewed publications by synthesizing and comparing the findings and arguments from previous studies.

The study locates a wide-ranging advance of sustainable TIC as a construct by demonstrating the leading dimensions and key factors interrelated to the sustainable TIC. The foremost IC that has been addressed includes process, product, marketing, R&D and knowledge ICs.

Future research should test the extent of the contribution of TIC in intensifying the determining factors toward enhancing performance and sustainability. Besides, the undermined external aspects such as social responsibility and the natural environment should be addressed by future researchers to develop a comprehensive sustainable TIC.

This study reviews the various researches in the subject matter of sustainable TIC to show the developments as well as to provide comprehensive understandings in the subject.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), increasing the importance of understanding how these businesses can become more resilient and how service innovation can be an effective strategy to increase their adaptive capacity and survival. This study aims to examine the role of dynamic capabilities in service innovation as a factor explaining the resilience of SMEs in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic during the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on service innovation. Additionally, the authors assess whether service innovation has a significant impact on value cocreation in these businesses.

This study used a quantitative method by surveying 118 SME owners in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling.

The results reflect important theoretical contributions by analyzing resilience from an innovation perspective instead of a retrospective approach, which is an area that has not been analyzed in the literature. Additionally, theoretical contributions to marketing services in SMEs are discussed, which is an underresearched topic. The results advance by discussing the role of service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources and how this can be an effective strategy to increase value cocreation with customers during crises.

This study is original in that it analyzes resilience from the perspective of innovation, and not from a retrospective approach. It offers a vision in response to the need for studies that provide a clearer conceptualization of resilience in small businesses. This highlights the importance of considering regional differences and service innovation as effective strategies to enhance resilience and value cocreation with customers.