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Article
Publication date: 27 September 2011

Yuan Yi‐jun and Lv Cui‐jie

The equipment manufacturing industry, as a strategic industry of China, is experiencing a transition from imitative innovation to independent innovation. The achievements of…

1090

Abstract

Purpose

The equipment manufacturing industry, as a strategic industry of China, is experiencing a transition from imitative innovation to independent innovation. The achievements of independent innovation have not been as good as could have been expected. Based on evolutionary economics, the purpose of this paper is to explore the evolutionary path of the two innovation modes, respectively, and analyze the internal and external factors that hinder the mutation from imitative innovation routine to independent innovation routine. According to the results of the evolutionary game model, several policy suggestions are proposed to promote the transition from imitative innovation to independent innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on the concepts of evolutionary economics. Routine, mutation, path dependence and selection are included in the analysis of the evolutionary path of the two innovation modes. Especially, the evolutionary game model of innovation modes selection is established to explain how internal and external conditions work in the transition.

Findings

The paper explores the evolutionary path of the transition from imitative innovation to independent innovation in the equipment manufacturing industry of China, and analyses the obstacles and factors (internal path dependence, and the lack of benefit incentive and external mutation conditions such as fiscal support and intellectual property protection) that hinder the mutation from imitative innovation routine to independent innovation routine. The results of the evolutionary game model show that the pursuit of the benefit (innovation return or the profit), as an internal mutation condition, is the most fundamental motivation for independent innovation, while policy incentives, as the external mutation conditions, have a significant impact on the evolutionary transition. According to the results, several policy suggestions are proposed to promote the transition from imitative innovation to independent innovation.

Originality/value

Taking the equipment manufacturing industry as a particular object, this paper tries to explain the evolutionary path and the obstacle factors of the transition from imitative innovation to independent innovation from the perspective of evolutionary economics, involving routine, mutation, path dependence, selection, and so on. The evolutionary game model of innovation modes selection is established to investigate the influence of these factors.

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2012

Wei‐Wei Wu, Bo Yu and Chong Wu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate two issues: understanding how Chinese equipment manufacturing firms can achieve successful independent innovation; and studying the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate two issues: understanding how Chinese equipment manufacturing firms can achieve successful independent innovation; and studying the roles of technology management (TM) and technological capability (TC) in independent innovation. The paper will develop a new model for independent innovation for China's equipment manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews literature related to independent innovation models, then develops a theoretical framework combining and integrating research from different fields. First, it examines how indexes of independent innovation are defined from the perspectives of technology, patents, standard, R&D and the market. Second, technology management and technological capability are interpreted. Third, relationships among TM, TC, and independent innovation are theoretically analyzed and discussed. Based on these, the paper conducts an in‐depth case study of Harbin Electric Corporation to explain how independent innovation is achieved from perspectives of TM and TC. Finally, the paper constructs and discusses the double helix model of TC and TM for independent innovation.

Findings

The paper finds that: technology management and technological capability both exert important influences on successful independent innovation; the improvement of TC follows cyclical steps of acquisition, assimilation and improvement, and TM is promoted by reforming and updating strategy management, organization management, regulation management and resource‐quality management; TM and TC have interactive effects; and TM and TC are coupled in the form of a double helix to realize independent innovation.

Originality/value

The paper provides new aspects of technology management, technological capability and their interaction to deconstruct independent innovation. The paper also offers insights in presenting a detailed case study of on‐the‐ground innovation and upgrading in China.

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2022

Donghan Jiang, Hualing Lin, Jamal Khan and Yaqing Han

Professor independent directors have been the subject of academic debate as to whether they can improve corporate innovation performance. Accordingly, this paper aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

Professor independent directors have been the subject of academic debate as to whether they can improve corporate innovation performance. Accordingly, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between professor independent directors, the marketization process and corporate innovation performance in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2017, this study examines how professor independent directors and the (low and high) marketization process affect corporate innovation performance.

Findings

The empirical analysis of this yields the following main results. First, enterprises with a higher proportion of professor independent directors outperform those with a low proportion of professor independent directors in terms of corporate innovation. Second, the study of introducing the marketization process finds that there is no “market failure”. Third, while professor independent directors have a significant association with innovation performance in the high-marketization group, this association is negligible in the low-marketization group, indicating that there is no “substitution effect”.

Originality/value

This research provides empirical evidence to support the hiring of professors with relevant backgrounds as independent directors who can contribute meaningfully to corporate governance and innovation while also fostering industrial transformation. This study also identifies that the role of professor independent directors in facilitating corporate innovation is more effective in regions with a high degree of marketization than in regions with a low degree of marketization, implying that increasing marketization benefits the role of professor independent directors in facilitating corporate innovation.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2017

Qing Zhou, Gang Fang, Wei Yang, Yun Wu and Liqin Ren

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically analyze the impact of the types of micro-innovation on innovation performance and the choice of micro-innovation

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically analyze the impact of the types of micro-innovation on innovation performance and the choice of micro-innovation strategies in different contexts on the basis of an examination of the basis and standards of micro-innovation categorization.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected and analyzed 206 survey samples from the Zhejiang Province in China; there were 68, 63 and 75 enterprises at inception, high growth and maturity stages, respectively, and there were, in total, 53, 90 and 63 low-tech manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), technology-intensive manufacturing SMEs and service-oriented SMEs, respectively. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The analysis results suggest that SMEs at the embryonic stage should choose strategies of imitative innovation, whereas SMEs at growth stage should use continued micro-innovation and independent micro-innovation as the optimal choices; it is better for the SMEs at the mature stage to resort to independent micro-innovation. Low-tech manufacturing SMEs should opt for the continued micro-innovation strategy, and technology-intensive manufacturing SMEs should adopt independent micro-innovation, whereas service-oriented SMEs should choose both continued and independent micro-innovation strategies.

Originality/value

This study sets up a classification framework of micro-innovation and addresses its category and sources, thus extending the micro-innovation research results. The conclusion also supports and enriches the view of open innovation in the innovation theory. Hidden behind the phenomenon that internal and external factors play vital roles, it is a basic rule that innovation activities must be subject to various related factors.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2022

Johana Sierra-Morán, Laura Cabeza-García and Nuria González-Álvarez

Although the literature on corporate governance and firm innovation finds that board independence is important, this paper proposes that the presence of independent directors…

Abstract

Purpose

Although the literature on corporate governance and firm innovation finds that board independence is important, this paper proposes that the presence of independent directors alone is not enough to explain their impact on firm innovation. This study analyses if diversity among independent directors may affect the relationship between board independence and firm innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

A panel data on a sample of 124 Spanish listed companies for the period 2008–2019 used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Results suggest that independent directors have a negative effect on firm innovation, measured as number of patents, but when there are high levels of gender and nationality diversity among such directors, this negative effect may be mitigated.

Originality/value

Considering that firm innovation is a complex process associated with decision-making and that board independence itself may be not enough, this study goes a step further and delves deeper into the characteristics of independent directors. As far as is known, this paper is the first theoretical and empirical study that considers that independent director diversity as a moderating variable between board independence and firm innovation. Besides, this research contributes to the debate on the role of independent directors in firm innovation and the results may also serve as a guideline for policy makers and firms for structuring boards that are pro-innovation.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 February 2022

Yue Song

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence mechanisms of multi-level ecological participants on technological innovation capabilities within the focal small and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence mechanisms of multi-level ecological participants on technological innovation capabilities within the focal small and mid-size enterprises' (SME) innovation ecosystem. The author examines the moderating role of the innovation ecological environment.

Design/methodology/approach

With the lenses of innovation ecosystem theory, technological innovation theory and ecological theory, the author constructs and empirically tests a conceptual framework for exploring the effects of the focal SME's connections with universities and research institutions, and the industrial chain and ecosphere on their independent and collaborative innovation capabilities. The innovation ecological environment is employed as a moderating variable in the proposed model. The author issued email questionnaires to managers at innovative SMEs in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Jiangsu provinces. The data were used for multiple regression analyses to test the hypotheses.

Findings

As predicted, the author found that SMEs’ cooperation with universities and research institutions positively affects independent and collaborative innovation capability. The relationships between the industrial chain, the ecosphere and independent and collaborative innovation capabilities are all inverted U-shaped. Additionally, the author demonstrates that the innovation ecological environment positively moderates relationships between the focal SME's ecological participants and these two types of technological innovation capabilities.

Originality/value

The results enrich research on innovation ecosystems and technological innovation capability and provide important managerial implications for Chinese SMEs to enhance their technological innovation capability by constructing and coordinating innovation ecosystems. It also allows China, as well as other developing countries, to cultivate world-class enterprises as an innovative nation.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2023

Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard, Sirimon Treepongkaruna, Pornsit Jiraporn and Keun Jae Park

Exploiting a novel measure of innovation, the authors investigate whether independent directors improve innovation efficiency. This novel measure of innovation captures the extent…

Abstract

Purpose

Exploiting a novel measure of innovation, the authors investigate whether independent directors improve innovation efficiency. This novel measure of innovation captures the extent to which the firm generates revenue from its research & development and is, therefore, more economically meaningful. The authors also use a text-based measure of innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors rely on a quasi-natural experiment based on the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that compelled certain firms to raise board independence. The difference-in-difference analysis is far less vulnerable to endogeneity and is more likely to show a causal influence, rather than a mere association.

Findings

The results show that more independent directors improve innovation efficiency significantly. Specifically, firms forced to raise board independence experienced a much higher increase in innovation than those not required to change their board composition. The authors also explore another novel measure of innovation, a text-based metric of innovation.

Originality/value

The research is original in several ways. First, the authors take advantage of an exogenous regulatory shock as a quasi-natural experiment. This approach is far less susceptible to endogeneity. Second, the authors use a novel measure of innovation efficiency, i.e. research quotient, which is more economically meaningful. Finally, the authors use a unique measure of innovation derived from powerful textual analysis.

Details

Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, vol. 23 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Liang Wan, Biao Luo, Tieshan Li, Shanyong Wang and Liang Liang

– This paper aims to investigate the relation between technological innovation modes and their impact on eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in China.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relation between technological innovation modes and their impact on eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first constructs a model to evaluate and measure the eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in China from 2006 to 2010. Second, this paper compares the role of technological innovation modes – specifically, domestic independent innovation, foreign technology import and domestic technology transfer – in improving eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in the Eastern, Central and Western regions of China by logarithmic regression.

Findings

The study finds that domestic independent innovation has a positive significant influence in improving eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in the Eastern region; domestic technology transfer has a positive significant role in the Central region; and foreign technology import and domestic technology transfer positively affect the Western region.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to identify the role of technological innovation modes in improving eco-efficiency. The findings can help enterprises in the three regions adopt the most effective technological innovation mode. In addition, the results provide valuable insights into policy development to improve China’s overall eco-efficiency and to balance economic and industrial development among the three regions.

Details

Nankai Business Review International, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8749

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2018

Meehee Cho, Mark A. Bonn, Su Jin Han and Sora Kang

The purpose of this study is to better understand the effects of independent restaurant partnerships upon product innovation associated with performance by investigating…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to better understand the effects of independent restaurant partnerships upon product innovation associated with performance by investigating differences in business situations between startup and established independent restaurant sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

Partnership strength and diversity were assessed to identify their influence on restaurant product innovation and performance using a structural equation model to test the study’s hypotheses. A multi-group analysis was used to examine the moderating roles of business life cycle on the relationships between partnership strength and diversity and product innovation.

Findings

Results found that product innovation implementation requires strong and diverse partnerships with suppliers to improve independent restaurant performance. Diverse partnerships have a more positive effect upon product innovation than do strong partnerships. The positive effect partnership strength with suppliers had upon product innovation was significantly greater for startup restaurants, while its positive effect of diversity was greater for established restaurants.

Practical implications

Findings can be used to establish effective strategic partnerships with independent restaurant suppliers and to manage them more effectively in consideration of their business characteristics being startup or established operations.

Originality/value

This study was an initial attempt to empirically prove significant roles of partnership strength and diversity applied to the context of independent restaurant product innovation. Findings regarding different effects of partnership strength and diversity contributed to the existing body of knowledge about strategic partnerships with suppliers.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2022

Nur Asni and Dian Agustia

This study aims to investigate the effect of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms (board size, independent commissioner and ownership concentration) on green innovation (GI) in…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effect of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms (board size, independent commissioner and ownership concentration) on green innovation (GI) in publicly traded companies of Indonesia as an emerging market.

Design/methodology/approach

Archival data relating to CG and GI were collected for five years (2016–2020). A total of 640 observations were obtained and analyzed using a random effect model.

Findings

The results indicate that effective governance mechanisms can encourage GI implementation to promote company sustainability. Respectively, the board size, independent commissioner and ownership concentration positively and significantly affect GI. These results imply that the optimal board size will result in effective coordination and cooperation in making GI decisions. Likewise, the proportional independent commissioners in the board structure will serve an effective oversight function. And concentrated ownership can influence executives to prefer innovation policies, such as GI.

Research limitations/implications

First, only a few CG mechanisms were used in this investigation. Therefore, further research needs to consider other mechanisms such as the number of commissioners, internal and external commissioners. Second, this research focused solely on Indonesia as an emerging market. Future research can be expanded to include countries with other emerging market characteristics. Third, different GI measurements from this study should be considered in future studies.

Practical implications

Practically, the results of this study are expected to provide policy recommendations, including optimizing the CG mechanisms as a control tool to achieve organizational sustainability through GI according to stakeholder expectations. This can be achieved by optimizing the size of the board of directors. The low value of the board size coefficient implies that optimization of board size is needed to encourage GI. The company can gain directors’ competence, experience and skill to increase innovation performance. In addition, maximizing the role of independent commissioners in overseeing is required for continuous innovation activities. Finally, the control of large shareholders is also necessary to encourage the implementation of GI because they could influence management to make innovative decisions.

Originality/value

This study extends and contributes to the extant CG and GI literature. There is little evidence that reveals how CG mechanisms affect GI, particularly in emerging market settings. The findings offer some important evidence for improving CG in driving GI implementation.

Details

Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, vol. 22 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

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