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Study On The Relationship Between Enterprise's STI/DUI Learning And Technological Innovation Performance

Posted on:2011-10-02Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:A F GuoFull Text:PDF
GTID:1119360305453345Subject:Management Science and Engineering
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Since striding into the 21st century, scholars are more and more focusing on the role that knowledge and learning play in the enterprise's technological innovation. Knowledge becomes the enterprise's key resource. The main challenge for enterprise in innovation strategy is how to use knowledge to sustain its continuous innovation. During this strategic search, the most importance task is to recognize and make efficient use of the complementarity among the enterprise's different learning activities, and optimize knowledge use. In 2004, professor Lundvall and his fellows recognized two modes of learning and innovation modes:STI (Science,Technology, Innovation) and DUI (Doing, Using, Interacting). Scholars like Jensen further deepen the concepts of these two modes. Drawing on the results of the 2001 Danish DISKO Survey, they make a preliminary conclusion that firms are more likely to innovation by combining the two modes of learning. However, their research are not sufficient to demonstrate such complementarity between STI and DUI learning, more verifications are still needed of whether this conclusion is universal and whether it adapts to Chinese enterprises. Weakness of Chinese Enterprises in indigenous innovation is becoming a shackle for our country's sustainable development in economy. Combining STI and DUI learning properly may be an effective way to improve the enterprise's indigenous innovation capability, which still needs further theoretical support. This paper launches the research right on this central issue.This dissertation integrates related theories like knowledge-based view, organization learning and technological innovation, focuses on the basic research proposition of "how STI and DUI learning influence technological innovation performance", explores the influence on innovation performance from STI/DUI learning and their interaction, thoroughly analyzes the mechanism how STI/DUI learning influence innovation performance, and discusses the dynamic evolution locus of STI and DUI learning in different development stage. The main work is expanded in the following four parts:(1) Through review of related theories like knowledge-based view, organization learning and technological innovation, the dissertation finds out shortcomings of the current research and puts forward the definition to the concepts and constructs of key variables such as STI learning, DUI learning and organization learning capability (OLC), which forms the basis for argumentation.(2) Four typical cases are chosen for the explorative cases research. Through theoretical presumption, data collection, within-case analysis and comparison among cases,11 preliminary research issues are put forward about relationships between STI/DUI learning, organization learning capability and enterprise's technological innovation performance, which provides a construct for future research.(3) Based on explorative cases research mentioned above and in-depth theoretical analysis, two concept models of the influence of STI & DUI learning and their combination on innovation performance and the mechanism how STI & DUI learning influence technological innovation performance are put forward. The hypotheses are tested using a sample of 230 Chinese manufacturing firms.(4) The dynamic evolution process of STI & DUI learning in the different stage of technological innovation and enterprise development is approached in the end.This dissertation comes to the following main conclusions based on the above-mentioned analysis:(1) Enterprise's STI & DUI learning have positive influence on technological innovation performance. Both STI learning and DUI learning can facilitate the technological innovation performance. The uncertainty of external technology and market environment can regulate the relationship between DUI learning and innovation performance. In the circumstance that technology and marked environment change slowly, DUI learning will have more obvious influence on innovation performance, while as the technology and market environment change quickly, the facilitation of DUI learning to innovation performance will become weak.(2) The influence of STI learning on innovation performance is indirect, and this influence is derived through the mediating role of OLC. In detail, it is via STI learning positive influence on knowledge search-recognition capability and integration-application capability, that it imposes its positive influence on technological innovation performance. DUI learning has direct and positive effect on technological innovation performance. Meanwhile, through positive influence on knowledge search-recognition capability and transfer capability, DUI learning further influence technological innovation performance. STI learning and DUI learning have certain mutual interdependency and complementarity on each, and they influence innovation performance interactively. Meanwhile, firms combining STI and DUI learning are more likely to innovate than those emphasizing on STI learning or DUI learning respectively.(3) Based on the U-A dynamic pattern of innovation, this dissertation finds that the importance of STI learning descends significantly from fluid, transition to specific stages while DUI learning ascends significantly. In addition, this thesis finds that enterprises'STI learning and DUI learning intensity strengthen gradually from the phase of introduction and imitation, improvement, to indigenous technological innovation.By employing an integrative, multidisciplinary approach, this thesis tries to make some innovation in the following fields:First, this dissertation takes Chinese manufacturing industry as the empirical research object, and it is a proof of STI/DUI complementary innovation in different countries which is put forward by scholars like Jensen. In addition to the influence on the quantity of new products, the paper also discusses the influence that the combination of STI and DUI learning impose on the enterprises'other innovation performances indicators such as new products development speed, originality, development continuity, and proportion of new products sales etc. The dissertation, for the first time, makes research on the regulating function that the uncertainty of technology and market environment has on the relationships of STI & DUI learning and technological innovation performance.Second, this dissertation discusses the internal mechanism of STI/DUI complementary innovation, further opens the'black box'of STI/DUI complementary innovation, and establishes the theoretical framework of "STI/DUI learning -- OLC-technological innovation performance". It further explains Jensen and his fellow's conclusion of the STI/DUI complementary innovation, and facilitates to perfect the STI/DUI complementary innovation theory.Third, this dissertation first explorers STI/DUI leaning dynamic evolution in enterprise different development stage and the evolution track in different products innovation stages, further enriches and develops the STI/DUI complementary innovation theory, and provides a good perspective for the research on Chinese manufacturing enterprises realizing strategic transformation and update.Fourth, this dissertation refines the construct of OLC and points out that OLC is mainly composed of knowledge search-recognition capability, transfer capability and integration-application capability. The paper also designs a scale for directly measuring each capability element which is proved to have high reliability and validity, laying foundation for similar researches in the future. In addition, the dissertation gives a deep investigation on the influence mechanism that each capability element has on enterprise's technological innovation performance, and the role that STI/DUI learning plays in promoting OLC, which further enrich the current organization learning theory.
Keywords/Search Tags:STI learning, science-based learning, DUI learning, experience-based learning, organization learning capability, technological innovation performance
PDF Full Text Request
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