IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eurman/v30y2012i6p552-563.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Orchestrating R&D networks: Absorptive capacity, network stability, and innovation appropriability

Author

Listed:
  • Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Pia
  • Olander, Heidi
  • Blomqvist, Kirsimarja
  • Panfilii, Victoria

Abstract

Networked R&D has faced upheaval over the last decade. However, in order to fully benefit from collaboration, firms need to embrace paradoxes that are inherent in R&D networks. We therefore investigate how orchestration (rather than traditional management) of relationships by improving absorptive capacity, network stability, and innovation appropriability contribute to the success of both the network and the individual firm, from the firm’s point of view. We use survey data collected from 213 R&D-intensive firms. The results indicate that diverging effects emerge regarding alliance and firm success; stability and absorptive capacity are most relevant for the former, and absorptive capacity and appropriability for the latter.

Suggested Citation

  • Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Pia & Olander, Heidi & Blomqvist, Kirsimarja & Panfilii, Victoria, 2012. "Orchestrating R&D networks: Absorptive capacity, network stability, and innovation appropriability," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 552-563.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:30:y:2012:i:6:p:552-563
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2012.03.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237312000205
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.emj.2012.03.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    2. Ranjay Gulati & Paul R. Lawrence & Phanish Puranam, 2005. "Adaptation in vertical relationships: beyond incentive conflict," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 415-440, May.
    3. Fritsch, Michael & Lukas, Rolf, 2001. "Who cooperates on R&D?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 297-312, February.
    4. Maurizio Zollo & Jeffrey J. Reuer & Harbir Singh, 2002. "Interorganizational Routines and Performance in Strategic Alliances," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(6), pages 701-713, December.
    5. Melanie Schreiner & Prashant Kale & Daniel Corsten, 2009. "What really is alliance management capability and how does it impact alliance outcomes and success?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(13), pages 1395-1419, December.
    6. Andrew C. Inkpen & Steven C. Currall, 2004. "The Coevolution of Trust, Control, and Learning in Joint Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(5), pages 586-599, October.
    7. Gambardella, Alfonso, 1992. "Competitive advantages from in-house scientific research: The US pharmaceutical industry in the 1980s," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 391-407, October.
    8. Saviotti, Pier Paolo, 1998. "On the dynamics of appropriability, of tacit and of codified knowledge," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(7-8), pages 843-856, April.
    9. Kim, Chang-Su & Inkpen, Andrew C., 2005. "Cross-border R&D alliances, absorptive capacity and technology learning," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 313-329, September.
    10. Wesley M. Cohen & Richard R. Nelson & John P. Walsh, 2000. "Protecting Their Intellectual Assets: Appropriability Conditions and Why U.S. Manufacturing Firms Patent (or Not)," NBER Working Papers 7552, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Prashant Kale & Harbir Singh, 2007. "Building firm capabilities through learning: the role of the alliance learning process in alliance capability and firm‐level alliance success," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(10), pages 981-1000, October.
    12. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    13. Robert M. Grant & Charles Baden‐Fuller, 2004. "A Knowledge Accessing Theory of Strategic Alliances," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 61-84, January.
    14. Kristian Möller & Senja Svahn, 2006. "Role of Knowledge in Value Creation in Business Nets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 985-1007, July.
    15. Prashant Kale & Harbir Singh & Howard Perlmutter, 2000. "Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: building relational capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 217-237, March.
    16. Udo Zander & Bruce Kogut, 1995. "Knowledge and the Speed of the Transfer and Imitation of Organizational Capabilities: An Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 76-92, February.
    17. Paul S. Adler, 2001. "Market, Hierarchy, and Trust: The Knowledge Economy and the Future of Capitalism," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 215-234, April.
    18. John Hagedoorn & Jos Schakenraad, 1994. "The effect of strategic technology alliances on company performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 291-309, May.
    19. Peter J. Lane & Michael Lubatkin, 1998. "Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning," Post-Print hal-02311860, HAL.
    20. Linsu Kim, 1998. "Crisis Construction and Organizational Learning: Capability Building in Catching-up at Hyundai Motor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(4), pages 506-521, August.
    21. Bruce A. Heiman & Jack A. Nickerson, 2004. "Empirical evidence regarding the tension between knowledge sharing and knowledge expropriation in collaborations," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(6-7), pages 401-420.
    22. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1996. "What Firms Do? Coordination, Identity, and Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 502-518, October.
    23. Hakansson, Hakan & Ford, David, 2002. "How should companies interact in business networks?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 133-139, February.
    24. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    25. Jakki Mohr & Robert Spekman, 1994. "Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behavior, and conflict resolution techniques," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 135-152, February.
    26. Herminia Ibarra & Martin Kilduff & Wenpin Tsai, 2005. "Zooming In and Out: Connecting Individuals and Collectivities at the Frontiers of Organizational Network Research," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 359-371, August.
    27. van Dijk, Machiel, 2000. "Technological Regimes and Industrial Dynamics: The Evidence from Dutch Manufacturing," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 9(2), pages 173-194, June.
    28. Richard C. Levin & Alvin K. Klevorick & Richard R. Nelson & Sidney G. Winter, 1987. "Appropriating the Returns from Industrial Research and Development," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 18(3, Specia), pages 783-832.
    29. Rothaermel, Frank T. & Deeds, David L., 2006. "Alliance type, alliance experience and alliance management capability in high-technology ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 429-460, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Min Guo & Naiding Yang & Jingbei Wang & Yanlu Zhang, 2021. "Multi-dimensional proximity and network stability: the moderating role of network cohesion," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(4), pages 3471-3499, April.
    2. Christina Marie Mitcheltree, 2023. "Towards a sense of urgency for innovation realization: a case study on complacency asymmetries in interorganizational relations," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-37, December.
    3. Xie, Xuemei & Zou, Hailiang & Qi, Guoyou, 2018. "Knowledge absorptive capacity and innovation performance in high-tech companies: A multi-mediating analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 289-297.
    4. Mariano, Stefania & Al-Arrayed, Suad, 2018. "Combinations of absorptive capacity metaroutines: The role of organizational disruptions and time constraints," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 171-182.
    5. Lewandowska Małgorzata Stefania, 2015. "Capturing Absorptive Capacity: Concepts, Determinants, Measurement Modes and Role in Open Innovation," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 45(1), pages 32-56, March.
    6. Chigu Kim & Chul Lee & Jina Kang, 2018. "Determinants Of Firm’S Innovation-Related External Knowledge Search Strategy: The Role Of Potential Absorptive Capacity And Appropriability Regime," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(06), pages 1-33, August.
    7. Guiyang Zhang, 2021. "Employee co-invention network dynamics and firm exploratory innovation: the moderation of employee co-invention network centralization and knowledge-employee network equilibrium," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7811-7836, September.
    8. Shuman Zhang & Changhong Yuan & Yuying Wang, 2019. "The Impact of Industry–University–Research Alliance Portfolio Diversity on Firm Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Greco, Marco & Grimaldi, Michele & Cricelli, Livio, 2016. "An analysis of the open innovation effect on firm performance," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 501-516.
    10. Călin Florin Băban & Marius Băban, 2022. "An Orchestration Perspective on Open Innovation between Industry–University: Investigating Its Impact on Collaboration Performance," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(15), pages 1-23, July.
    11. Zhong, Qi & Sun, Yaowu, 2020. "The more the better? Relational governance in platforms and the role of appropriability mechanisms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 62-73.
    12. Greco, Marco & Locatelli, Giorgio & Lisi, Stefano, 2017. "Open innovation in the power & energy sector: Bringing together government policies, companies’ interests, and academic essence," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 316-324.
    13. Stefan, Ioana & Bengtsson, Lars, 2017. "Unravelling appropriability mechanisms and openness depth effects on firm performance across stages in the innovation process," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 252-260.
    14. Greco, Marco & Grimaldi, Michele & Cricelli, Livio, 2017. "Hitting the nail on the head: Exploring the relationship between public subsidies and open innovation efficiency," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 213-225.
    15. Ali Shahabi & Adel Azar & Reza Radfar & Reza Asadi Asadifard, 2020. "Combining Soft Systems Methodology with Interpretive Structural Modeling and System Dynamics for Network Orchestration: Case Study of the Formal Science and Technology Collaborative Networks in Iran," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 453-478, August.
    16. Anne M. Quarshie & Rudolf Leuschner, 2020. "Interorganizational Interaction in Disaster Response Networks: A Government Perspective," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 56(3), pages 3-25, July.
    17. Xie, Xuemei & Wang, Hongwei & García, Javier Sendra, 2021. "How does customer involvement in service innovation motivate service innovation performance? The roles of relationship learning and knowledge absorptive capacity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 630-643.
    18. Lundberg, Heléne & Andresen, Edith & Törnroos, Jan-Åke, 2016. "Understanding network emergence after turbulent industrial relocation: A Swedish biorefinery initiative," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 475-483.
    19. Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen & Mika Vanhala & Heidi Olander, 2016. "Appropriability Profiles – Different Actors, Different Outcomes," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(08), pages 1-26, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Müller, Dirk, 2010. "Alliance Coordination, Dysfunctions, and the Protection of Idiosyncratic Knowledge in Strategic Learning Alliances," EconStor Preprints 41039, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Jaideep Anand & Raffaele Oriani & Roberto S. Vassolo, 2010. "Alliance Activity as a Dynamic Capability in the Face of a Discontinuous Technological Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(6), pages 1213-1232, December.
    3. Kavusan, K., 2015. "Essays on capability development through alliances," Other publications TiSEM 8eb736a5-b217-4718-ac13-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Lee, Po-Yen & Lin, Hui-Tzu & Chen, Hung-Hsin & Shyr, Yi-Hwan, 2011. "Dynamic capabilities exploitation of market and hierarchy governance structures: An empirical comparison of Taiwan and South Korea," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 359-370, July.
    5. Heimeriks, K. & Duysters, G.M., 2004. "A study into the alliance capability development process," Working Papers 04.21, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    6. Siachou, Evangelia & Vrontis, Demetris & Trichina, Eleni, 2021. "Can traditional organizations be digitally transformed by themselves? The moderating role of absorptive capacity and strategic interdependence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 408-421.
    7. Duysters, G.M. & Heimeriks, K.H., 2002. "The influence of alliance capabilities on alliance performance: an empirical investigation," Working Papers 02.08, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    8. Scaringella, Laurent & Burtschell, François, 2017. "The challenges of radical innovation in Iran: Knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity highlights — Evidence from a joint venture in the construction sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 151-169.
    9. Kudic, Muhamed & Pyka, Andreas & Sunder, Marco, 2013. "Network Formation: R&D Cooperation Propensity and Timing Among German Laser Source Manufacturers," IWH Discussion Papers 9/2013, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    10. Frank T. Rothaermel & Andrew M. Hess, 2007. "Building Dynamic Capabilities: Innovation Driven by Individual-, Firm-, and Network-Level Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 898-921, December.
    11. Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Reproducing Knowledge: Replication Without Imitation at Moderate Complexity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 274-293, June.
    12. Koen H. Heimeriks & Geert Duysters, 2007. "Alliance Capability as a Mediator Between Experience and Alliance Performance: An Empirical Investigation into the Alliance Capability Development Process," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 25-49, January.
    13. Li, Zhengyu, 2016. "Essays on knowledge sourcing and technological capability : A knowledge structure perspective," Other publications TiSEM b8ff31fc-c57b-4bc3-b5a4-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Gillis, William E. & Combs, James G. & Yin, Xiaoli, 2020. "Franchise management capabilities and franchisor performance under alternative franchise ownership strategies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(1).
    15. Guo, Jingjing & Guo, Bin & Zhou, Jianghua & Wu, Xiaobo, 2020. "How does the ambidexterity of technological learning routine affect firm innovation performance within industrial clusters? The moderating effects of knowledge attributes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Gerhard Speckbacher & Kerstin Neumann & Werner H. Hoffmann, 2015. "Resource relatedness and the mode of entry into new businesses: Internal resource accumulation vs. access by collaborative arrangement," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(11), pages 1675-1687, November.
    17. Hashai, Niron & Almor, Tamar, 2008. "R&D intensity, value appropriation and integration patterns within organizational boundaries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6-7), pages 1022-1034, July.
    18. Melissa A. Schilling & H. Kevin Steensma, 2002. "Disentangling the Theories of Firm Boundaries: A Path Model and Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 387-401, August.
    19. Soh, Pek-Hooi & Subramanian, Annapoornima M., 2014. "When do firms benefit from university–industry R&D collaborations? The implications of firm R&D focus on scientific research and technological recombination," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 807-821.
    20. Chen, Hung-hsin & Lee, Po-yen & Lay, Tzyy-jane, 2009. "Drivers of dynamic learning and dynamic competitive capabilities in international strategic alliances," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 1289-1295, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:30:y:2012:i:6:p:552-563. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/115/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.