企业创新柔性组态路径研究——一个模糊集定性比较分析

The Configuration Path of Corporate Innovation Flexibility:A Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

创新柔性对企业在不确定性环境下保持健康稳定发展至关重要,如何提升企业创新柔性受到学界关注。现有文献侧重研究单个因素对创新柔性的净效应,鲜有分析多因素对创新柔性的协同效应。基于组态视角,运用模糊集定性比较分析法(fsQCA),探讨网络能力和知识共创两个层面的5个变量对企业创新柔性的联动效应及其作用路径。结果表明,网络愿景、网络构建、网络管理、联合型知识共创和嵌入型知识共创均不是构成企业高、非高创新柔性的必要条件,且单个前因条件对创新柔性的解释力较弱,说明影响企业创新柔性的因素是多方面的;存在3条提升企业创新柔性的路径,即资源获取型、发展—管理型和单一型;导致企业非高创新柔性的路径有两条,且与高创新柔性路径影响因素存在非对称性关系。研究不仅能丰富创新柔性相关理论,还可为企业提升创新柔性提供思路借鉴。

Innovation is the primary engine of development and the strategic support for constructing modern economic system. Enterprise is the most important force for innovation and playing a significant role in building innovation-oriented country. The rapidly changing external environment intensifies market competition.It is the key to win competitive advantages if a company can achieve innovation at low cost and obtain good innovation flexibility. The promoting effect of innovation flexibility on enterprise development is emphasized, but the research on antecedent factors of innovation flexibility is not rich at present. Existing literature cannot provide sufficient guidance for enterprises to enhance innovation flexibility. Therefore, how to effectively improve corporate innovation flexibility is a practical and scientific problem to be solved urgently. The effect of network capability and knowledge co-creation on corporate innovation has attracted academic attention. Network capability can help enterprises identify the value and opportunity in the external environment and effectively obtain innovation resources so that they can improve innovation ability. Knowledge co-creation can help enterprises reduce the cost of knowledge acquisition, carry out innovation activities, accelerate innovation and improve innovation performance at last. Innovation flexibility is affected by multiple factors, and different combinations of factors may produce the same results. However, the existing literature about corporate innovation flexibility does not systematically study the effect of different combinations of factors, and fails to effectively reveal the interaction between network capability and knowledge co-creation on corporate innovation flexibility. The qualitative comparative analysis(QCA) method from the configuration perspective can overcome the limitation of traditional research methods. It helps to deeply explore the configuration effect of multiple factors from systematic and comprehensive perspective. The configuration perspective is more suitable for studying the synergistic effect of network capability and knowledge co-creation on corporate innovation flexibility.From the configuration perspective, the study uses the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA) method to explore the linkage effect and path selection of corporate innovation flexibility from two levels of network capability and knowledge co-creation with five variables. The study uses a questionnaire survey to collect data and it is divided into two stages including pre-survey and formal survey, with 323 valid questionnaires at last.The main conclusions are as follows. Firstly, network vision, network construction, network management, joint knowledge co-creation, and embedded knowledge co-creation are not necessary conditions for high or non-high innovation flexibility. A single antecedent condition has weak explanatory power for innovation flexibility. This shows that there are multifactors to enhance corporate innovation flexibility. Secondly, there are three ways to improve corporate innovation flexibility including resource acquisition, development-management and monotype. Lastly, there are two non-high-innovation flexibility paths and they are asymmetrically related to the influencing factors of high innovative flexibility paths.The research incorporates network capability and knowledge co-creation into the theoretical framework. It studies the combined effect of network capability and knowledge on corporate innovation flexibility.It reveals the complex causal mechanism of network capability and knowledge on corporate innovation flexibility, and deeply analyzes the influence of synergistic linkage among multiple variables on corporate innovation flexibility. It can not only make up for the inadequacy of studying corporate innovation flexibility from a single-dimensional perspective, but also reveals the synergistic effect mechanism of network capability and knowledge co-creation on corporate innovation flexibility. At the same time, the paper studies innovation flexibility with QCA method and finds multiple paths and key elements for improving corporate innovation flexibility. The research findings can help to expand the application field of QCA method. Meanwhile, the study finds three high-innovation flexibility paths and two non-high-innovation flexibility paths which can better explain diversified paths to improve innovation flexibility. There are practical implications for enterprises. Firstly, facing the uncertain external environment, the company can choose suitable paths based on its own technical features and management level with concentrating resources on key capabilities. Secondly, the company should choose the appropriate mode of knowledge co-creation and network, and make use of knowledge and other network resources effectively. Finally, the company needs systematic analysis and scientific judgment to accurately understand the relationship between knowledge co-creation and network capability to grasp the core elements for innovation flexibility.