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In this paper, we assess how important ‘industry’ is to innovation. Our empirical estimates show that ‘industry factors’ matter little to how firms’ search for new innovations and that firms within the same industry have widely different perceptions of the obstacles constraining technological change. These results offer empirical support to recent evolutionary theory where firms have heterogeneous capabilities and pursue different approaches to innovation. Structural variables at the industry level have a stronger influence on firm innovation. This result supports ‘sectoral innovation system’ approaches where firms are more ‘constrained’ by technological regimes underlying industry evolution. Hence, the driving forces behind technological evolution are found at both the firm and industry level, but to different degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing innovation and particularly searching for new ideas in a steady state environment is really different than in discontinuous conditions where traditional practices and routines may prove ineffective. This paper reviews and empirically explores the field of search strategies and practices for discontinuous innovation and, for the first time, tests the validity of a ‘discontinuous innovation (DI) search capacity’ construct. Based on a comprehensive literature review on the innovation search stage and on the evidence of more than 80 case studies reported by the Discontinuous Innovation Laboratory, a questionnaire was developed and submitted to a 500 high-tech firm sample. Four DI search dimensions were identified, each consisting of a bundle of interrelated yet distinct practices. We empirically tested the DI search capacity and measured it as a second-order construct by using the structural equation modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Technology is crucial for organizations in the knowledge society, but little empirical research has been conducted on technology absorptive capacity and technology proactivity. Based on existing theoretical studies, this article formulates a global model to analyse how technology absorptive capacity and technology proactivity influence organizational learning and organizational innovation, and how these dynamics capabilities affect organizational performance. The model also shows how organizational learning affects organizational innovation. The hypotheses are tested using data from 246 Spanish technological firms. The paper discusses the findings and provides several implications for future research. The findings are important for management practice, especially for firms where technology is the main strategic element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated framework for the analysis of sustainable innovation policy was developed, based on a combination of the transition management (TM) framework, the strategic niche management approach, and policy recommendations, resulting from technological innovation system (TIS) studies. In the framework, the multi-level view from TM has been integrated with the functions approach from the TIS literature. The integrated policy framework shows that specific policy goals and measures can be found at the specific points of intervention related to (the interfaces between) landscape, regime, TIS and niches. The integrated framework suggests that stimulation of a TIS only makes sense when this action is well aligned with landscape and regime developments. The framework should be used in empirical studies for further testing and refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a growing number of firms have begun to reassess their strategic goals and subsequently restructure their global supply chains. Since supply chain restructuring often leads to dramatic changes in the business paradigm, there is a need to examine whether or not it affects the way that firms co-ordinate their business activities and integrate product innovations across the supply chain. Nevertheless, little has been known about the antecedents of supply chain restructuring and the impact of supply chain restructuring on manufacturing practices. To fill the void in this line of research, we propose co-ordination theory that can explain causal links between supply chain restructuring and key strategic variables essential for the supply chain success from focal company perspectives. These strategic variables may include the extent of co-ordination with suppliers, the degree of information sharing with suppliers, and the level of organisational integration. Our empirical analysis, based on the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey IV, confirms the validity of co-ordination theory in that business initiatives intended for greater co-ordination and information sharing with suppliers turned out to be a major driving force behind supply chain restructuring, which facilitates organisational integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purchasing function of large firms has slowly evolved from the operational task of ordering products and services towards a strategic part of business. However, the full implications of strategic purchasing for firm innovation have yet to be explored. The contribution of this study is two-fold. First, we develop a relational view of strategic purchasing embracing both the quality of the purchasing function and the properties of its internal and external relations. Second, based on exploratory empirical analysis, we propose four patterns of the link between strategic purchasing and innovation. We find that strategic purchasing is an enabling, but not necessary, condition for a contribution of purchasing to innovation, which in turn mostly relates to the relational resources of purchasing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]