TY - JOUR
T1 - The moderating effect of absorptive capacity on the technology search and innovation quality relationship in high-tech manufacturing firms
AU - Duan, Yunlong
AU - Huang, Lei
AU - Luo, Xuan
AU - Cheng, T. C.E.
AU - Liu, Hanxiao
N1 - Funding Information:
The paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation Project of China (Grant Number: 71663058 ), and Applied Basic Research Key Project of Yunnan Province ( 2018FA037 ). The authors thank them heartedly for supporting the paper’s funding.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/10/1
Y1 - 2021/10/1
N2 - Based on the knowledge-based view, we conceptualize the technology search of high-tech manufacturing firms into three dimensions, namely search breadth, search depth, and balanced search, and construct the functional paths of the relationships between the different technology search dimensions and innovation quality of high-tech manufacturing firms. Grounded in absorptive capacity theory, we analyze how such relationships will change with the absorptive capacity level. Using data from China's high-tech manufacturing industry from 2009 to 2017, we construct a panel data model to test the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on such relationships. Our research findings suggest: (i) Technology search breadth and depth each have a significant, inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation quality, i.e., technology search breadth and depth have an optimal point, and innovation quality exhibits an initial increasing and then decreasing trend. (ii) Balanced search has a significant positive relationship with innovation quality, i.e., there is a balanced point between technology search breadth and depth, and the higher the balance point is, the higher is innovation quality. (iii)Absorptive capacity does not merely positively moderate the relationship between technology search and innovation quality, but has different moderating effects under different search levels.
AB - Based on the knowledge-based view, we conceptualize the technology search of high-tech manufacturing firms into three dimensions, namely search breadth, search depth, and balanced search, and construct the functional paths of the relationships between the different technology search dimensions and innovation quality of high-tech manufacturing firms. Grounded in absorptive capacity theory, we analyze how such relationships will change with the absorptive capacity level. Using data from China's high-tech manufacturing industry from 2009 to 2017, we construct a panel data model to test the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on such relationships. Our research findings suggest: (i) Technology search breadth and depth each have a significant, inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation quality, i.e., technology search breadth and depth have an optimal point, and innovation quality exhibits an initial increasing and then decreasing trend. (ii) Balanced search has a significant positive relationship with innovation quality, i.e., there is a balanced point between technology search breadth and depth, and the higher the balance point is, the higher is innovation quality. (iii)Absorptive capacity does not merely positively moderate the relationship between technology search and innovation quality, but has different moderating effects under different search levels.
KW - Absorptive capacity
KW - Balanced search
KW - High-tech manufacturing firms
KW - Innovation quality
KW - Search breadth
KW - Search depth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114290249&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jengtecman.2021.101656
DO - 10.1016/j.jengtecman.2021.101656
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85114290249
SN - 0923-4748
VL - 62
JO - Journal of Engineering and Technology Management - JET-M
JF - Journal of Engineering and Technology Management - JET-M
M1 - 101656
ER -
