Collaboration for radical and incremental innovation:The roles of intra-region and intra-group knowledge spillover

Knowledge spillover via collaboration is essential to innovation,with proximity being a vital factor.Nevertheless,little consensus has been achieved on which form of proximity is more critical for innovation.Instead of reaching a definitive conclusion,we highlight the potential of addressing the argument through the lens of innovation heterogeneity.This work thus contributes to current literature by integrating two forms of innovation,radical and incremental,into the discourse of geographical and organizational proximity in knowledge spillover via collaboration.Utilizing a dataset of patents from China’s listed firms between 2001 and 2017,we first categorize radical and incremental innovation according to the characteristics of knowledge combination,encompassing the familiarity of combined knowledge and maturity of combination ways.We further investigate the heterogenous effects of intra-region and intra-group knowledge spillovers,linked to geographical and organizational proximity in collaboration,on radical and incremental innovation.Empirical findings demonstrate that innovation relies on knowledge spillover both within groups and within regions.Moreover,intra-region spillover is essential for fostering radical innovation,while intra-group spillover only facilitates incremental innovation.Our findings provide both theoretical and practical implications,suggesting that multilocational enterprises should enhance their collaborator selection to leverage diverse knowledge spillovers,thereby fostering radical and incremental innovation in distinct ways.

The effect of domestic and foreign trade coordination on technological innovation： complements or substitutes？

Based on the theory of technology spillover in international trade, this paper discusses the technological innovation effect of trade by taking the influence of domestic trade into account. Under the constraint of the production possibility frontier, there is either complementarity or substitutability between domestic and foreign trade. It must be decided whether resources should be concentrated in one of the sectors （trade specialization） or instead allocated equally （trade equalization） between the two sectors. This paper firstly discusses how domestic trade and foreign trade work together to influence technological innovation, and how trade equalization and specialization affect different types of innovation. Using a provincial-level panel dataset from 2007 to 2015 in China, this paper constructs the indicators of domestic and foreign trade linkage and examines the impact of trade on innovation. The findings show that trade equalization mainly promotes incremental innovation, while trade specialization improves radical innovation. Thus, in the area of incremental innovation, attention should be paid to the equalized development of domestic and foreign trade, while in areas pursuing radical innovation, emphasis should be put on the specialization of the trade sector, avoiding equal allocation of resources to the two sectors.

Deciphering the black box of HPWSeinnovation link:Modeling the mediatory role of internal social capital

This study investigates the impact of High-Performance Work Systems(HPWS)on radical and incremental innovation in the services industry.Insights from the Social Exchange Theory(SET)and Ability-Motivation-Opportunity(AMO)Framework have been used to assess the role of social capital(SC)as a mediator between HPWS,radical innovation(RI),and incremental innovation(II).By using a simple random sampling technique,328 responses were received from respondents in Pakistan's banking sector firms.For data analysis,structural equation modeling was applied.The results of the study show that HPWS is a significant driver of II,but not RI,in banking sector firms.Moreover,SC plays the role of mediator in the HPWS-innovation link.Outcomes of the study extend the understanding of the“black-box”(i.e.,the transmission mechanism between systems of human resources(HR)practices and innovation).It also contributes to understanding HPWS,SC,II,and RI in the context of Pakistan's banking sector.This study expands on earlier research in the areas of HPWS,SC,and Innovation.It supports the view that internal SC enables RI and II.Prior studies indicated that HPWS drives innovations,yet there has been no clear explanation about the mechanism of this effect.By providing empirical evidence on the mediating role of SC,this study expands on existing literature.Empirical validation of an association between HPWS RI,and II contributes to theory by supporting the tenets of the AMO Framework.Unlike prior research that focused on short-term financial outcomes,this study used RI and II as alternate indicators of organizational performance.Our study expanded the literature into the services sector.Furthermore,we contributed to the methodology by conceptualizing HPWS as a high-order formative construct,resulting in significant model parsimony.Insights from our study are relevant to managers because it shows that HPWS implementation not only helps banks to attract,develop,and retain talent but also facilitates the development of SC,which is critical for enabling the innovation capability of the firm.Top managers need to consider internal SC in the design of HPWS because carefully designed HPWS drives SC.This enables idiosyncratic relationships among members of the organization.Thus,the firm gets a competitive advantage that is harder to be copied by competitors.First,data were collected from a single industry.It will be useful to know the effects of multiple industries in future research.Second,this study did not differentiate between different dimensions of SC,i.e.,structural,cognitive,and relational.It will be interesting to see how these dimensions relate to HPWS and innovation in future research.

Tightness-Looseness and Government Innovation Emphasis:Effects on Regional Innovation Outcomes in China

This study examines the interplay between government-level tightness-looseness,cultural tightness,innovation emphasis,and their effects on innovation outcomes in China from 2002 to 2022.Using a panel dataset of government annual reports from 31 provinces,we measured government-level tightness-looseness and innovation emphasis through computational text analysis.Our results show that government tightness consistently hindered radical innovation,while innovation emphasis negatively impacted general and incremental innovation,with no significant effect on radical innovation.The 2014“Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation(MEI)”campaign significantly reshaped these dynamics:post-campaign,government tightness exhibited more positive effects on innovation outcomes compared to pre-campaign levels,while looseness became detrimental.Further,the study disentangles the effects of government-level and cultural tightness.Notably,misalignment between government and cultural tightness initially promoted innovation but proved detrimental post-campaign.Similarly,cultural tightness shifted from enhancing to reducing the effectiveness of innovation emphasis after MEI.Robustness tests and mediation analyses further support these findings.For policymakers,our findings underscore the importance of fostering alignment between government and cultural tightness to enhance innovation policy effectiveness,especially in the post-MEI context.This national innovation initiative established a unified innovation goal,shifting the landscape for local policy impacts.Post-MEI,rather than simply intensifying innovation emphasis,a more effective approach may involve calibrating policies to local cultural contexts and institutional conditions,especially in regions with high cultural and governmental tightness,where institutional pressures are already strong.