供应商创新性的利用机制：企业网络化行为的作用

The Integration Mechanism of Supplier Innovativeness: The Role of Firm Networking Behaviors

利用供应商创新性是企业实现产品创新的关键。基于社会资本理论,从供应商网络视角探讨企业网络化行为对供应商创新性利用的作用机制。研究结果显示,供应商创新性是其提供创新贡献的重要前提与基础;企业网络化行为通过适度提升供应商嵌入性可增强供应商创新性,促进供应商创新贡献的实现;企业网络化行为通过提升企业网络权力和供应商资源分配偏好不仅能激发供应商为企业创新做出贡献,还能促进供应商创新性有效转化为供应商创新贡献;同时,企业网络化行为还可通过增强供应商嵌入性和企业网络权力,提升供应商资源分配偏好,进而推动供应商创新性的有效利用。

Suppliers have become an increasingly important source of open innovation for firms. Academicians and professionals highlight the critical role integrating supplier innovations play in enhancing firm＇s innovation performance. To successfully integrate supplier innovations, firms should not only exploit suppliers＇ technological capability, but also integrate suppliers＇ willingness to make contribu- tion to buyer innovation, i.e., firms should integrate supplier innova- tiveness effectively. Accordingly, integrating supplier innovativeness provides a key to bring about product innovation. Extant studies have tried to explore how to take advantage of supplier innovativeness based on the relational view, knowledge-based view, and organi- zational learning theory from dyadic perspective, however, dyad cannot capture the essence of complex supplier network, it will be more meaningful to study from the perspective of supplier network. Based on social capital theory, this study focuses on integrating sup- plier innovativeness from the perspective of supplier network, and establishes the theoretical model of the influence of firm networking behaviors on integrating supplier innovativeness. Taking Chinese manufacturers as research objects, a large-sample questionnaire survey is conducted, and 414 valid sample data in total are collect- ed. Then we test the reliability and validity of the scales and adopt multiple hierarchical regressions to examine the hypotheses by SPSS and AMOS statistical software. The results indicate that （1）supplier innovativeness is an important prerequisite and foundation for sup- plier＇s contribution to firm innovation; （2） firm networking behaviors can indirectly strengthen supplier innovativeness with the help of properly design of supplier embeddedness; （3） firm network power and supplier resources allocation preferences, not only bridge the gap of firm networking behaviors and supplier＇s contribution to firm in- novation, but moderate the relationship between supplier innovative- ness and supplier＇s contribution to firm innovation as well; （4） firm networking behaviors can achieve supplier＇s preferential treatment by enhancing the supplier embeddedness and firm network power, thus further drive the effective transformation of supplier innovativeness into supplier＇s contribution to firm innovation. The theoretical and managerial implications, the limitations and the direction for future research are discussed as well.