Research On Resource-focused Action And Its Impact On Technology Innovation

The possession and utilization of resources are a major basis for the survival and development of enterprises.The resource-based theory focusing on organizational resources and sustainable competitive advantage has developed more than 30 years since its introduction in 1991.Scholars’ research on resource-based theory has also gone through the development path of static resource-based view,dynamic resource-based view,and resource-focused action.Based on the research of the static resource-based view and the dynamic resource-based view,the resource-focused action view further focuses on the organization’s specific resource management process,emphasizing the manager as the main body of the resource action.The manager’s action focusing on the resource is an essential bridge to the transformation of resource to capabilities.The introduction of resource-focused action,on the one hand,provides a new perspective for resource-based theoretical research,and on the other hand provides a more direct guide for managers of how to use resources to enhance capabilities.Based on this new research perspective of resource action,we find that resource-focused actions still remains many research topics that need to be further enriched,such as characteristics,evolution,and roles for technology innovation,which also can further guide the resource management practices of enterprises in different situations.Therefore,this study focuses on three important issues of organizational resource action characteristics,evolution and its role in technological innovation,and further detailed answers through three sub-studies.Firstly,the basic assumption of the research of resource-focused action is that managers are independent decision makers of organizational resources.However,the managers are also affected by external institutional situations.In the context of Chinese institutions,managers of enterprises in certain situations are not an autonomous decision maker of enterprise resources.As the system makers and resource owners,the government often intervenes in the resource actions of enterprise managers.Then,under the Chinese institutional situation,what are the resource action characteristics under the dual subjectives which contain government and enterprises?Secondly,most of the existing researches take resource action as narrowly structuring,bundling and leveraging.Resource-focused actions of enterprises at different stages of the enterprise life cycle are mainly reflected in the differences in structure,bundling and utilization.In fact,all actions of managers focusing on organizational resources can be regarded as resource actions in a broad sense.Therefore,from the perspective of the enterprise life cycle,the evolutionary path and mechanism of resource-focused actions have yet to be explored.Third,resource-focused action as an important link between resources and organizational capabilities,the interaction between it and technological innovation also needs to further explore.This paper draws on existing three dimensions of "horizontal,vertical and enterprise life cycle",and expands the connotation of the existing research framework.Therefore,this study mainly explores the characteristics of resource action in the context of China,the evolution of resource action,and the mechanism of resource action on technological innovation.These research involves the analysis of characteristics,dynamic evolution,and specific mechanism is not applicable to the methods of traditional quantitative research.Therefore,qualitative research methods such as case studies and grounded theory are mainly used in this research.Dalian NCR,China FAW,NHI Inner Mongolia,Mengcao,Shenzhen ESL are chosen to be the case in this research.The conclusions of the three sub-research are as follows:First,resource-focused action under the dual subjects has the characteristics of "multiple structuring under restrictions","bundling of independent resources under technical constraints"and "double value realization of national tasks and market demands".The study selected three typical state-owned enterprises and adopted a longitudinal multi-case research method.The research found that:(1)resource-focused actions exist the development process from the government-led to enterprise managers-led;(2)The characteristics of resource-focused action under the dual subjects,namely "multiple structuring under restrictions","bundling of independent resources under technical constraints" and "double value realization of national tasks and market demands";(3)The dynamic evolution of state logic and market logic in China’s institutional context has led to the evolution of political ties from "integration" to"decoupling".The dynamics of political ties have led to government changes in corporate interventions.The different performances of government intervention and enterprise capabilities at different stages led to the above characteristics of resource-focused actions under dual entities.Second,resource-focused action will undergo the evolution process of "resource bricolage-resource orchestration" in the enterprise life cycle.This study selected a longitudinal single case research method taking Mengcao Ecological Group Co.,Ltd.as a sample.The study concluded that as the organization grows.The resource-focused action will shift from task-oriented to capacity-oriented and multi-industry collaboration-oriented.The evolutionary path of resource-focused action is from resource bricolage,resource configuration to resource orchestration.In other words,resource bricolage and resource orchestration are the primary and advanced stages of the interaction between resource-focused action and external context.Respectively.Entrepreneurship,organizational ability and grasp of external opportunities are endogenous drivers of resource-focused action evolution.From the perspective of external institutional context factors,resource action evolution is influenced by the institutional context,and strategic cognition is an important transmission intermediary in the process of institutional context affecting resource action evolution.Third,there are differences in resource-focused actions under different technological innovations.This study starts from the two innovation backgrounds of frugal innovation and product platform-independence,and selects the vertical single case study and the horizontal comparison case study method respectively.The research finds in the frugal innovation context focusing,deepening,expanding are three kind resource-focused action models in frugal innovation context;dual-resource constrains,entrepreneur’s partiality,and industry coordination are the main factors forming the models of resource-focused action;besides,the interaction between dual-resource constrains,entrepreneur’s partiality,and industry coordination constitutes the main mechanism of the formation of resource-focused action in the context of frugal innovation.In the product platform independent context,under the influence of product-market structure and technology strategies,enterprises with different platform-independence have different resource-focused action:multiple orchestration and single splicing;the close interaction between products-market structures,technology strategy,and resource orchestration models ultimate impact platform-independence.This study further discusses the value of the above research in enriching resource action research and expanding the research mechanism of technological innovation.The study also proposes management implications for how managers conduct resource actions in business management practices.