Abstract:

Based on the perspective of formal and informal search, it explores the impact of external search on product innovation performance by using data from a survey of 217 manufacturing SMEs in Zhejiang province. The empirical results show that both formal and informal search have significant positive effects on product innovation performance. Knowledge tacitness positively moderates the link of formal search and product innovation but negatively moderates the relationship between informal search and product innovation. Technological complexity negatively moderates the informal search – product innovation link. It contributes to the literature on innovation search in the following ways: it introduces the perspective of formal and informal search to analyze the relationship between external search and product innovation performance, and it also extends to include knowledge attributes as a crucial contingency of innovation search.

摘要：

基于正式、非正式搜索的视角，以217家浙江中小型制造企业为样本，研究外部知识搜索对产品创新绩效的影响机制。实证结果表明，正式和非正式搜索对产品创新绩效均具有显著的正向影响，而知识缄默性正向调节正式搜索和产品创新绩效之间的正向关系，而负向调节非正式搜索与产品创新绩效之间的正向关系，技术复杂性负向调节非正式搜索与产品创新之间的关系。上述发现确认了外部知识搜索在中小企业创新活动中的重要作用，同时也从知识属性角度识别了影响外部知识搜索效能的重要情境条件。