企业间技术耦合和关系耦合——知识获取效率对供应商创新的中介作用研究

Technology modularity and relational coupling——the mediation effect of knowledge acquisition effectiveness on supplier innovation

技术模块化改变了价值链中企业间的合作方式和行为。与整合价值链中通过与客户建立和维持紧密耦合关系,以关系交易赢得市场地位不同,模块化技术耦合降低了供应商与特定客户间的相互依赖,为供应商通过自主创新提升价值创造能力提供了激励和条件。实证研究表明,首先,技术模块化能降低外部环境和双边关系中的不确定性影响,提高对客户知识和信息获取的效率,为供应商基于内部创新实践提升自身能力创造了有利条件。其次,在"获取—吸收—整合—转化"的知识创造过程中,关系耦合的价值和其生成机制会受到技术耦合方式的影响。技术模块化情境下,关系耦合不能直接影响知识整合和创造过程,但在知识获取阶段仍会产生积极作用。

Technology modularity architecture has been changing inter firm cooperation mode, deducing the uncertainty roused by en vironmental and cooperative complexity, accordingly decrease the interdependence between client and supplier compared with integra tive architecture. Meanwhile, the inter firm knowledge and information flow turned to be more precise, explicit and pertinent, whieh facilitate suppliers＇ knowledge acquisition efficiency from their clients. These conditions inspire suppliers＇ exploratory and innovative activities internally, rather than building social interdependence with clients for relational transactions. Furthermore, we discuss that relationship coupling is not excluded under this circumstances, and also create relational value by positively moderating the relationship between technology modular and suppliers＇ knowledge acquisition effectiveness. The empirical analysis of survey data from 162 suppli ers supported the theoretical hypotheses. The theoretical and managerial applications are： first, while diminishes the alternative of co operative innovation, modular architecture creates an opportunity for supplier to build competitive capabilities by implementing innova tive activities internally. Second, supplier＇ s investment on relationships with clients under modular design has positive returns by en hancing the valuable knowledge acquisition, with no direct impact on supplier＇ s innovativeness.