The Impact of Specialized Knowledge Search on Enterprise Innovation

Xianyue Liu; Zhipeng Yao; Caixia Liu; Dali Zhao; Chunpei Lin

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.725514

The Impact of Specialized Knowledge Search on Enterprise Innovation

Front Psychol. 2021 Oct 7:12:725514. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.725514. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Xianyue Liu^{1

2}, Zhipeng Yao¹, Caixia Liu¹, Dali Zhao³, Chunpei Lin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Business School of Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, China.
² Business Management Research Center, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, China.
³ College of Economics and Management, North China University of Technology, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the fierce competition in the market nowadays, a closed innovation model based on internal knowledge is no longer sufficient to support enterprises in search of high-performance innovation. Instead, corporations are desperately required to search for resources of external knowledge to meet their innovation goals. Existing studies on open innovation in corporate management failed to fully elaborate on the mechanism of how the external knowledge search could impose an impact on sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation. In this study, the external knowledge search was divided into three categories according to the knowledge-based theory, namely, the scientific knowledge search, the market knowledge search, and the supply-chain knowledge search. While taking into account the moderating role of the focus of attention of the manager, we analyzed the statistical results of 485 questionnaires collected from manufacturing enterprises to elaborate on the mechanism of how the specialized knowledge search could impose an impact on sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation. Our research conclusions are expected to enrich existing studies on the factors contributing to corporate innovation, including but not limited to sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation. In addition, the research findings are expected to lay an empirical foundation by summarizing previous theoretical opinions while providing references for subsequent in-depth studies in the meantime. Moreover, the paper has put forward practical management measures and suggestions that could enable enterprises in developing countries to search and effectively transform the external knowledge into innovative outcomes. Last but not least, this study is expected to provide both theoretical and practical guidance for enterprises to further facilitate innovation by means of knowledge search.

Keywords: disruptive innovation; market knowledge search; scientific knowledge search; supply-chain knowledge search; sustaining innovation.