Research On Influence Mechanism Of Auto Focal Firm Innocation Network On Innovation Performance

Automotive industry is the pillar industry of one country. The vehicle product isthe heart and soul of automotive industry, which has the feature of multi-component,high complexity, high-tech, high-matching. And accompanied by the intensification ofmarket competition, the shortening of the product life cycle, high efficiency of R&Dcycle, the innovative network organization is the must select for each auto focal firmsuccessfully organizing the internal and external innovation resources of firm,especially for the auto focal firm of later development, the organizational model ofinnovative network and the utilization strategies of internal and external resourceslargely determines the success or failure of firm. So, systematically study theinnovation network modes and the impact mechanism and dynamic role in law ofinnovation network to product innovation performance are very necessary andmeaningful. Thus, based on innovation network theory, complex adaptivesystem(CAS) theory, using the methods of case studies, empirical research, simulationmodeling, from two levels of internal and external innovation networks, the paperstudied the innovation network modes and response structure of auto focal firm, andthe impact mechanism of innovation network to vehicle innovation performance, andthe affect law of innovation network to vehicle innovation performance during theprocess of auto focal firm growth. The main contents and conclusions are summarizedas follows:What kind of network organizational mode should be used during vehicle R&D,and what are the features of its response network structure. To solve these problems,based on the strength and weak relationship theory, strength and weak networkstructure theory, using the methods of case analysis and literature review, from fiveaspects of focal firm external innovation networks (universities and researchinstitutions, suppliers, vendors, and other core enterprises, financial institutions andgovernment), as well as three aspects of internal innovation network (processesdepartments, key components sector and other departments), the paper analyzed themain innovation members’ participation and connection cooperation in the process ofvehicle R&D of the United States and Japan auto focal firms. Then, from three aspectsof R&D cycle, innovation output quantity and innovation degree, sales volume, thepaper comparatively analyzed the vehicle innovation performance of the United Statesand Japan auto focal firms. Finally, the paper summarized two typical innovationnetwork organizational modes and response structures, identified the network modeand response structure which is favorable to improve vehicle innovation performance. Then, from the knowledge perspective, the paper explained the conclusions, and usedthe conclusions of foreign management well-known journal to verify the conclusions.The conclusions can be summarized as: for vehicle innovation, the networked andintensive integrated network mode and the open comb centre peripheral dual networkresponse structure is very beneficial to improve innovation performance, the strongnetwork structure of centre network is the core, which is the preconditions forperimeter network effectively playing a role during the innovation, and the same time,the weak network structure of perimeter network is the catalyst for centre networkplaying a greater role.About the impact mechanism of auto focal firm innovation network to innovationperformance, based on the innovation network theory, using the empirical researchmethods, the paper put the external innovation network and internal innovationnetworks into one research framework, and according to the logical thinking ofnetwork characteristic variables-> knowledge integration/knowledge innovation->innovation performance, the paper put forward31hypotheses about the impactmechanism of auto focal firm innovation network to innovation performance, andconstructed two conceptual models. Then, verify the hypotheses and models throughstructural equation modeling (SEM). The study found that: during auto focal firminnovation process, the shared vision of internal innovation network plays afundamental role in knowledge integration and innovation; the influence of networkrelationship strength and network density to knowledge integration and innovation ismuch larger than the influence of network size, the influence of network relationshipstrength is the biggest; external innovation networks mainly indirectly affects theknowledge integration and innovation through internal innovation networks, internalinnovation network plays a key intermediary role, and the main influence of internalinnovation network to knowledge integration and innovation is the direct role, theindirect role is very small.About the interaction mechanism of internal and external innovation network andthe effect law of internal and external innovation network to innovation performancein the process of auto focal firm growth, the paper firstly put forward the four-stageeffect law of internal and external innovation network to innovation performance.Then, based on the idea of CAS theory, completed the model design about the roleinternal and external innovation network to innovation performance, and realized thecomputer simulation, reproduced the four-stage growth process of auto focal firm andthe improvement process of internal innovation network from variable of innovationachievements accumulation, innovative net income change, internal network entitynodes increase. After that, through changing the parameter of autonomous learningand technical endogenous capacity, the parameter of external cooperation learningcapacity, the parameter of internal collaboration capability, the paper further excavated the interaction mechanism of internal and external innovation network andthe effect law of internal and external innovation network to innovation to innovationperformance at different stages of firm growth. Finally, paper validated theconclusions with case study. The study found that: the growth process of auto focalfirm is in line with S-shaped curve, in knowledge accumulation stage, externalinnovation network plays an indirect role in nurturing to internal innovation network,the autonomous learning ability of internal network plays the most crucial role in thisstage; in mastering the key components’ core technology stage, external innovationnetwork plays a direct role in nurturing to internal innovation network, the externalcooperation learning capacity plays the most crucial role in this stage; in independentinnovation capability perfected stage and completely independent innovationcapability stage, the direct nurturing role of external innovation network to internalinnovation network gradually disappear, so is the direct effect role of externalinnovation network to innovation performance, the role of internal collaborationcapability is increasingly prominent to innovation performance in the two stages.