THE USE OF AUTOMAKERS’ KNOWLEDGE IN THE COMPONENTS SUPPLIER’S INNOVATIONS: DIFFERENT EFFECTS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS

Abstract

Normal 0 7.8 磅 0 2 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:普通表格; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Automakers have been emphasized as an important knowledge source of a vehicle parts supplier. However, when the knowledge of automakers can be used more effectively is not clear. Thus, theoretic instructions for suppliers’ strategic decision on the use of this important knowledge in different situations are lacking. To reveal the different effects of suppliers using automakers’ knowledge in different situations, in this paper, we distinguish situations based on two criteria: ① the nature of inventions (i.e., exploitation and exploration) and ② the level of suppliers’ knowledge-creating capability. Using the US automobile manufacturing industry as the sample, we explored the characteristics of using the automakers’ knowledge in vehicle parts suppliers’ knowledge-creating activities in different situations. We find that automakers’ knowledge is most useful in the exploitative invention or for suppliers with a lower level of creation capability. This result reveals that the automakers’ knowledge is a preliminary element in suppliers’ invention; that is, it can support conventional inventions for weak suppliers.