How symmetry between intrafirm knowledge and collaboration structures influences exploratory innovation under conditions of combinability

We examine how symmetry between intrafirm knowledge and collaboration structures influences firms' exploratory innovation performance. Symmetry means that the inventors' collaboration structure mimics their knowledge structure, implying that inventors with similar domain knowledge collaborate, whereas inventors with dissimilar domain knowledge do not. We argue and show that intrafirm symmetry is the commonly used form by most firms, as it is intuitive and pays off on average. However, it also comes with an inherent risk for their exploratory innovation performance. To address this, we include a key condition of a firm's technological environment: the ease or difficulty with which its knowledge domains can be combined. Based on a sample of 170 publicly traded semiconductor firms over 23 years, we find a positive association between the symmetry of a firm's collaboration and knowledge structure and its exploratory innovation performance under average combinability. This relationship changes when firms operate under low or high combinability conditions. Both these conditions favor firms that deviate from symmetry by relying on a parallel, isolated configuration or multidisciplinary configuration. Our contribution to the literature lies herein that we show when firms and their managers should pay attention to stimulating and optimizing collaboration, as has been the dominant focus until now, but also, and equally important, when disbanding this standing collaboration among inventors is more effective for a firm's exploratory innovation. Most firms overlook the risk that comes with a symmetric configuration under conditions of low or high combinability and are better off instead through one of two less common, asymmetric configurations of their inventor collaboration and knowledge structures.<br/

Mind the gap: Balancing alliance network and technology portfolios during periods of technological uncertainty

While clique-embeddedness is generally considered to enhance firm performance, there are also reasons to expect that under conditions of technological turbulence clique-membership is less beneficial or might even become a liability. To address this, we study the innovative performance of clique members during periods of both technological change and technological stability. We find support for the idea that companies’ ability to adapt their alliance network (i.e. forming ties beyond the scope of the clique) and their ability to adapt their technology portfolios (i.e. access to novel technological knowledge) positively influences their innovative performance during technologically turbulent periods

Game of skill or game of luck? Distant search in response to performance feedback

Despite its strategic benefits, there is persistent heterogeneity across firms to what extent they engage in distant search activities. According to the default prediction of behavioral theory of the firm (BTF), poor past performance will increase a firm's propensity for distant search, whereas good performance will lead to a decrease. However, a contrasting view is taken within the emerging capability cue perspective, which predicts the opposite. To understand these conflicting views, we emphasize the key role of context that is formed by a firm's sectoral innovation pattern and shapes the dominant cognition of firms' managers. Building on this sectoral innovation perspective and Pavitt's seminal work (1984; 1995) we distinguish between a science-based innovation pattern (here, we focus on the semiconductor industry) and a specialized-supplier innovation pattern (we focus on the machinery industry). The key claim we make is that different sectoral innovation patterns shape other dominant managerial cognitions, leading to a different interpretation of past performance that influences the decision to increase or decrease distant search. Our paper contributes to an understanding of how the competing ideas on different ways in which firms respond to feedback, in view of distant search, can be reconciled. We also contribute to the literature on technological innovation by considering the role of managerial cognition and how differences therein can be associated with different firm choices on their distant search activities

Creating a supportive culture for corporate entrepreneurship:balancing creativity and discipline for the development of radical innovation by interfi rm cooperation

Abstract not availabl

The ecology of technology

In organizational ecology, the focus is on the evolution of a population of organizations. Adopting a similar logic, we deal with the evolution of a population (or set) of related of inventions. More specifically, by employing a population perspective to technology, we aim to determine to what extent the pattern of technological growth can be attributed to the structural characteristics of the technology itself. Through an empirical investigation of patent data in the biotechnology industry, we show that a technology’s internal (i.e., density and diversity) and external (i.e., crowding and status) characteristics have a significant effect on its growth rate. Finally, we discuss the implication of our findings for the development of what we coin the ecology of technology