创新生态系统嵌入对科技型新创企业成长的影响——资源编排视角下的多案例研究

The Impact of Innovation Ecosystem Embeddedness on the Growth of Technology-Based Start-Ups:A Multi-Case Study from the Perspective of Resource Orchestration

科技型新创企业囿于新生弱小,以自身为中心构建完备的创新生态系统具有一定难度,如何嵌入已有创新生态系统,整合优质资源,实现快速成长,是摆在所有科技型新创企业面前的现实难题。以资源编排为视角,构建“创新生态系统嵌入—资源编排—企业成长”的理论模型,运用多案例研究方法,选取3家具有代表性的科技型新创企业,将其嵌入创新生态系统的状态分为互融、共生和反哺3个阶段,分阶段研究企业嵌入创新生态系统的方式、资源编排行为及对企业成长的作用过程。研究发现:①嵌入创新生态系统是科技型新创企业获取优势资源、促进企业成长的重要途径,互融、共生和反哺阶段的系统嵌入方式存在显著差异;②在创新生态系统赋能搭建企业成长阶梯的作用过程中,资源编排起到重要作用;③企业嵌入创新生态系统不同阶段的资源编排行为也有所不同,先后经历资源拼凑、资源重组、资源撬动等动态演化过程。

Technology-based start-ups are used to being constrained by the limitations of the new generation,making it challenging to establish a comprehensive innovation ecosystem centered on themselves.A practical issue for technology-based start-ups is how to embed themselves in the existing innovation ecosystems,integrate high-quality resources,and achieve rapid growth.At present,academics have recognized the importance of innovation ecosystems in enhancing the innovation performance of enterprises.However,there is a lack of research on the process mechanism through which technology-based start-ups realize their growth by embedding themselves in innovation ecosystems.Therefore,this study focuses on how the embedding of innovation ecosystems promotes the growth of technology-based start-ups from the resource orchestration perspective.From the perspective of resource orchestration,this study takes three representative technology-based start-ups as the research objects,and divides the state of technology-based start-ups embedded in the innovation ecosystem into three phases:mutual integration,symbiosis,and feedback.By analyzing the evolutionary characteristics of the enterprises embedded in the innovation ecosystem,the behavior of resource orchestration,and the growth of the enterprises at different phases,this study aims at the intrinsic mechanism of embeddedness in the innovation ecosystem and the behavior of resource orchestration to reveal the intrinsic mechanism of innovation ecosystem embedding and resource orchestration behavior and promote enterprise growth.It is found that(1)embedding in the innovation ecosystem is crucial for technology-based start-ups to obtain advantageous resources that promote enterprise growth.Meanwhile,there are significant differences in the ways of embedding in the system at different stages.In the stage of mutual integration,technology-based start-ups acquire the much-needed resources for their survival and development through embedding in the park and strategic cooperation with other enterprises.In the symbiosis stage,technology-based start-ups develop a high degree of interoperability and alliance with enterprises in the system,enabling them to access cross-border,invisible and high-quality innovation resources.In the feedback stage,technology-based start-ups construct ecosystems and create innovation platforms to continuously empower other members of the system,thus forming value linkages and value-added effects and feeding the innovation ecosystem.(2)The innovation ecosystem empowers enterprises to achieve further development,and resource orchestration plays an important role.Technology-based start-ups acquire abundant resources by embedding themselves in the innovation ecosystem,and the acquired resources should not be taken for granted.It is essential for the enterprises to conduct reorganized and effective management through a series of resource arranging sub-processes,such as resource assembling,resource reorganization and resource leveraging.By undertaking these steps,new enterprise value and the continuous growth of new enterprises can be generated.(3)The innovation ecosystems of enterprises embedded differ across stages,for the enterprises have gone through the dynamic evolution process of resource patchwork,resource reorganization and resource leveraging.Resource patchwork dominates the mutual integration stage,and the start-ups supplement the required resources by utilizing,exploring,and acquiring resources,combining with existing resources to form a new resource base,developing new technological capabilities and innovation capabilities.The symbiosis stage is dominated by resource reorganization,and the start-ups integrate and reorganize heterogeneous resources through expanding,complementing,and cross-border resource reorganization to further strengthen its innovation capability.In the feedback stage,the start-ups leverage enterprise values by deploying and integrating resources to take a leading position in the industry.From the perspective of resource orchestration,this study constructs a theoretical model of"innovation ecosystem embeddedness—resource orchestration—enterprise growth",which opens the black box of the influence mechanism of innovation ecosystem embeddedness on the growth of technology-based start-ups,and enriches the theory of embedded innovation.The management implications of this study are as follows:first,technology-based start-ups should actively embed themselves in the innovation ecosystem and expand the scope and level of partners to acquire new technologies or new markets;second,they should actively adopt appropriate resource orchestration to effectively integrate and restructure their resource bases;finally,technology-based start-ups relying on innovation ecosystem embedding to realize enterprise growth should gradually shift from"unilateral dependence"to"bilateral dependence".They should not only rely on innovation ecosystem empowerment,but also make use of their own strengths to feed the innovation ecosystem and form a partnership with the system in the process of growth.