How does digital transformation affect innovation in knowledge-intensive business services firms? The moderating effect of R&D collaboration portfolio

IF 6.6 2区管理学 Q1 INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE

Journal of Knowledge Management Pub Date : 2023-09-05 DOI:10.1108/jkm-02-2023-0161

Yunlong Duan, Meng Yang, Hanxiao Liu, Tachia Chin

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose Firms are driven to ride on the digital wave in today’s open innovation ecosystem. This study aims to explore the effect of digital transformation (DT) on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms’ innovation ambidexterity, namely, radical versus incremental innovation, respectively. Meanwhile, the authors evaluated the moderating role of the complexity of R&D collaboration portfolio (i.e. organizational diversity and geographic diversity) in the above relationships. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel data set of 171 Chinese listed firms in the information and communications technology services industry from 2010 to 2018, the proposed hypotheses were empirically attested. Findings It is found that DT has a positive relationship with radical innovation and an inverted U-shaped relationship with incremental innovation. In terms of the R&D collaboration portfolio, organizational diversity positively moderates the relationships between DT and innovation ambidexterity, respectively. The geographic diversity weakens the inverted U-shaped effect of DT on incremental innovation; however, its moderating role in the link between DT and radical innovation is not empirically verified. Originality/value Extant scholars mainly addressed the interplay between KIBS firms and their manufacturing clients, while this study reveals the different consequences of DT on KIBS firms’ innovation ambidexterity to highlight the role of KIBS firms is an independent and essential innovator in a knowledge-driven economy. Notably, the findings contribute to knowledge management (KM) and R&D literature by confirming the diversity of the R&D collaboration portfolio is a critical KM strategy for KIBS firms to develop and promote external knowledge resources.

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数字化转型如何影响知识密集型商业服务公司的创新?研发合作组合的调节效应

目的在今天的开放创新生态系统中，公司被驱使乘上数字浪潮。本研究旨在探讨数字化转型（DT）对知识密集型商业服务（KIBS）企业创新双元性的影响，即分别是激进创新和增量创新。同时，作者评估了研发合作组合复杂性（即组织多样性和地域多样性）在上述关系中的调节作用。设计/方法/方法使用2010年至2018年171家中国信息和通信技术服务业上市公司的面板数据集，实证验证了所提出的假设。研究发现，DT与激进创新呈正相关，与增量创新呈倒U型关系。在研发合作组合方面，组织多样性分别正向调节DT和创新二元性之间的关系。地理多样性削弱了DT对增量创新的倒U型效应；然而，它在DT和激进创新之间的联系中的调节作用尚未得到实证验证。原创性/价值外部学者主要研究了KIBS企业与其制造业客户之间的相互作用，而本研究揭示了DT对KIBS企业创新双元性的不同影响，以强调KIBS企业在知识驱动经济中作为独立和重要创新者的作用。值得注意的是，研究结果通过证实研发合作组合的多样性是KIBS公司开发和推广外部知识资源的关键知识管理战略，有助于知识管理和研发文献。

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来源期刊

Journal of Knowledge Management Multiple-

CiteScore

13.70

自引率

15.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： Knowledge Management covers all the key issues in its field including: ■Developing an appropriate culture and communication strategy ■Integrating learning and knowledge infrastructure ■Knowledge management and the learning organization ■Information organization and retrieval technologies for improving the quality of knowledge ■Linking knowledge management to performance initiatives ■Retaining knowledge - human and intellectual capital ■Using information technology to develop knowledge management ■Knowledge management and innovation ■Measuring the value of knowledge already within an organization ■What lies beyond knowledge management?