解开新产品开发速度的困境——对研发投入和外部学习的配置分析

Unraveling the Dilemma of New Product Development Speed——Configuration Analysis of R&D Investment and External Learning Activities

企业必须快速开发新产品以取得竞争优势,但研发投入和外部学习对新产品开发速度的影响是好是坏还存在争议,因为过去的研究多探讨不同因素的独立影响,往往忽略了不同因素之间的共同影响。研究采用模糊集定性比较分析(fsQCA)方法,从配置的角度对300家中国制造企业进行研究后发现,研发投入较高时,企业有多种外部学习对象来实现新产品的快速开发,可以通过供应链学习(即向供应商、客户学习),同时向大学或者竞争者学习;在不开展供应链学习的情况下同时向大学和竞争者学习。此时,研发投入与外部学习对加速产品开发的影响更倾向于相互补充。而在研发投入较低的情况下,全面的外部学习活动同样能加速产品开发,此时,研发投入与外部学习更倾向于相互替代。

Enterprises must quickly develop new products to gain the competitive advantage,but the impact of R&D investment and external learning on the speed of new product development is still controversial.Because previous studies have mostly explored the independent influence of different factors and often overlooked the common influence between different factors.This paper uses the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA)method to study 300 Chinese manufacturing enterprises from the configuration perspective.It is found that when the R&D investment is high,enterprises have multiple external learning objects to achieve rapid development of new products.Enterprises can learn from supply chain learning(i.e.suppliers and customers),as well as from universities or competitors.They can learn from both universities and competitors without conducting supply chain learning.At this point,the impact of R&D investment and external learning on accelerating product development tends to mutual complementation.But in situations where R&D investment is low,comprehensive external learning activities can also accelerate product development.At this point,R&D investment and external learning tend to replace each other.