探索式创新、利用式创新与绩效：战略和环境的影响

Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, and Per-formance: Influence of Business Strategies and Environment

本文基于397家中国企业的样本数据,对探索式创新、利用式创新与企业绩效之间的关系进行了实证研究,着重考察了探索式创新、利用式创新的内部匹配关系以及这两类创新行为与企业战略和环境的外部匹配关系。结果表明,两类创新行为分别对企业绩效有直接的正向影响,两类创新行为之间的内部匹配对绩效无显著影响,两类创新行为与企业战略和环境竞争性的外部匹配关系对绩效有显著影响。

Research on exploratory and exploitative innovation is burgeoning, yet our understanding of the consequences of both activities remains rather unclear. We advance the growing body of literature by focusing on the apparent differences between exploratory and exploitative innovation, and examining how the internal and external Fit of the two types of innovations impact firm performance. Using data gathered through a survey of 397 enterprises in eastern, middle, and western China, we empirically test the impact of exploratory and exploitative innovation on firm performance. The results show that both exploratory innovation and exploitative innovation have a direct, positive effect on firm performance. The internal Fit of the two types of innovations, either moderating or matching, is found to have no significant impact on firm performance. The external Fit of the two types of innovations with business strategies （i.e., defenders and prospectors） and environmental aspects （i.e., dynamism and competitiveness） proves they have a significant effect on firm performance. For defenders, the effect of exploratory innovation on firm performance is increasing, while the effect of exploitative innovation on firm performance is decreasing, hence exploratory innovation is more positively related to firm performance than exploitative innovation. For prospectors, the effect of exploratory innovation on firm performance is decreasing, while the effect of exploitative innovation on firm performance is increasing, hence exploitative innovation is more positively related to firm performance than exploratory innovation. Environmental dynamism is found to have no significant moderating effect on the relationship between innovations and firm performance, and the results indicate that environmental competitiveness positively moderates the effectiveness of exploratory innovation, and negatively moderates the effectiveness of exploitative innovation.