IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v86y2018icp190-201.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Maturity of knowledge inputs and innovation value: The moderating effect of firm age and size

Author

Listed:
  • Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio
  • Ardito, Lorenzo
  • Savino, Tommaso

Abstract

This paper investigates whether and how the relationship between knowledge maturity and innovation value depends on firm age and size. Thus, we seek to advance the search and recombinant perspective of innovation by revealing that the successful recombination of knowledge inputs of different ages is strictly related to structural characteristics of innovating firms. Specifically, we contend that older firms outperform younger ones when they employ mature knowledge; conversely, younger firms are more able to exploit nascent and middle-aged knowledge. Regarding firm size, we expect that larger firms present a greater capability to innovate by using both nascent and very-well mature knowledge, while smaller firms develop more valuable innovative solutions when they build upon knowledge with a moderate level of maturity. These ideas are empirically tested on a sample of 5575 patented inventions registered by 298 biotechnology firms at the U.S.PTO., and our results offer support for the proposed conjectures.

Suggested Citation

  • Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Ardito, Lorenzo & Savino, Tommaso, 2018. "Maturity of knowledge inputs and innovation value: The moderating effect of firm age and size," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 190-201.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:86:y:2018:i:c:p:190-201
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.02.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318300845
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.02.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laforet, Sylvie, 2008. "Size, strategic, and market orientation affects on innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(7), pages 753-764, July.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. Marco Corsino & Giuseppe Espa & Rocco Micciolo, 2011. "R&D, firm size and incremental product innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 423-443.
    4. Anonymous, 2014. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-2, May.
    5. Felicia Fai & Nicholas Von Tunzelmann, 2001. "Scale And Scope In Technology: Large Firms 1930/1990," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 255-288.
    6. Sarah Kaplan & Keyvan Vakili, 2015. "The double-edged sword of recombination in breakthrough innovation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1435-1457, October.
    7. Alcácer, Juan & Gittelman, Michelle & Sampat, Bhaven, 2009. "Applicant and examiner citations in U.S. patents: An overview and analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 415-427, March.
    8. Michael B. Heeley & Robert Jacobson, 2008. "The recency of technological inputs and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 723-744, July.
    9. Singh, Jasjit, 2008. "Distributed R&D, cross-regional knowledge integration and quality of innovative output," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 77-96, February.
    10. Leal-Rodríguez, Antonio Luis & Eldridge, Stephen & Roldán, José Luis & Leal-Millán, Antonio Genaro & Ortega-Gutiérrez, Jaime, 2015. "Organizational unlearning, innovation outcomes, and performance: The moderating effect of firm size," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 803-809.
    11. Gautam Ahuja & Curba Morris Lampert, 2001. "Entrepreneurship in the large corporation: a longitudinal study of how established firms create breakthrough inventions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 521-543, June.
    12. Giarratana, Marco S., 2004. "The birth of a new industry: entry by start-ups and the drivers of firm growth: The case of encryption software," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 787-806, July.
    13. Frank T. Rothaermel & Warren Boeker, 2008. "Old technology meets new technology: complementarities, similarities, and alliance formation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 47-77, January.
    14. Nooteboom, Bart & Van Haverbeke, Wim & Duysters, Geert & Gilsing, Victor & van den Oord, Ad, 2007. "Optimal cognitive distance and absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1016-1034, September.
    15. Ashish Arora & Alfonso Gambardella & Laura Magazzini & Fabio Pammolli, 2009. "A Breath of Fresh Air? Firm Type, Scale, Scope, and Selection Effects in Drug Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(10), pages 1638-1653, October.
    16. Scott Shane, 2001. "Technological Opportunities and New Firm Creation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(2), pages 205-220, February.
    17. Olav Sorenson & Jan W. Rivkin & Lee Fleming, 2010. "Complexity, Networks and Knowledge Flows," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Novelli, Elena, 2015. "An examination of the antecedents and implications of patent scope," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 493-507.
    19. Narin, Francis & Hamilton, Kimberly S. & Olivastro, Dominic, 1997. "The increasing linkage between U.S. technology and public science," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 317-330, October.
    20. Lee Fleming, 2001. "Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 117-132, January.
    21. Rothaermel, Frank T. & Thursby, Marie, 2007. "The nanotech versus the biotech revolution: Sources of productivity in incumbent firm research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 832-849, July.
    22. Tufool Alnuaimi & Gerard George, 2016. "Appropriability and the retrieval of knowledge after spillovers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1263-1279, July.
    23. Richard Arend, 2014. "Entrepreneurship and dynamic capabilities: how firm age and size affect the ‘capability enhancement–SME performance’ relationship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 33-57, January.
    24. Laursen, Keld & Salter, Ammon, 2004. "Searching high and low: what types of firms use universities as a source of innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1201-1215, October.
    25. Daniel A. Levinthal & James G. March, 1993. "The myopia of learning," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 95-112, December.
    26. Gino Cattani, 2006. "Technological pre-adaptation, speciation, and emergence of new technologies: how Corning invented and developed fiber optics," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 15(2), pages 285-318, April.
    27. Joshua Lerner, 1994. "The Importance of Patent Scope: An Empirical Analysis," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(2), pages 319-333, Summer.
    28. Coad, Alex & Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2016. "Innovation and firm growth: Does firm age play a role?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 387-400.
    29. Ron Adner & Daniel Snow, 2010. "Old technology responses to new technology threats: demand heterogeneity and technology retreats," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(5), pages 1655-1675, October.
    30. Lori Rosenkopf & Atul Nerkar, 2001. "Beyond local search: boundary‐spanning, exploration, and impact in the optical disk industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 287-306, April.
    31. Anonymous, 2014. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 109-110, August.
    32. Ignacio G. Vaccaro & Justin J. P. Jansen & Frans A. J. Van Den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2012. "Management Innovation and Leadership: The Moderating Role of Organizational Size," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 28-51, January.
    33. Natarajan Balasubramanian & Jeongsik Lee, 2008. "Firm age and innovation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 17(5), pages 1019-1047, October.
    34. Gautam Ahuja & Riitta Katila, 2004. "Where do resources come from? The role of idiosyncratic situations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8‐9), pages 887-907, August.
    35. Davide Chiaroni & Vittorio Chiesa & Federico Frattini & Luca Turba, 2010. "Exploring the relationship between incumbency and radical innovation: the case of business to consumer e-commerce applications," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(4), pages 419-439.
    36. Atul Nerkar, 2003. "Old Is Gold? The Value of Temporal Exploration in the Creation of New Knowledge," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(2), pages 211-229, February.
    37. Allan P. O. Williams, 2006. "Impact of Strategies," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Rise of Cass Business School, chapter 13, pages 167-181, Palgrave Macmillan.
    38. Chan-Yuan Wong, 2013. "On a path to creative destruction: science, technology and science-based technological trajectories of Japan and South Korea," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 96(1), pages 323-336, July.
    39. Laura Poppo & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Todd R. Zenger, 2008. "Examining the Conditional Limits of Relational Governance: Specialized Assets, Performance Ambiguity, and Long‐Standing Ties," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(7), pages 1195-1216, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ardito, Lorenzo & Petruzzelli, Antonio Messeni & Ghisetti, Claudia, 2019. "The impact of public research on the technological development of industry in the green energy field," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 25-35.
    2. Leone, Maria Isabella & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Natalicchio, Angelo, 2022. "Boundary spanning through external technology acquisition: The moderating role of star scientists and upstream alliances," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Hohberger, Jan, 2016. "Diffusion of science-based inventions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 66-77.
    4. Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli & Daniele Rotolo & Vito Albino, 2014. "Determinants of Patent Citations in Biotechnology: An Analysis of Patent Influence Across the Industrial and Organizational Boundaries," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-05, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    5. Rajat Khanna & Isin Guler, 2022. "Degree assortativity in collaboration networks and invention performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(7), pages 1402-1430, July.
    6. Maria Chiara Di Guardo & Kathryn Rudie Harrigan & Elona Marku, 2019. "M&A and diversification strategies: what effect on quality of inventive activity?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 669-692, September.
    7. Jatinder S. Sidhu & Harry R. Commandeur & Henk W. Volberda, 2007. "The Multifaceted Nature of Exploration and Exploitation: Value of Supply, Demand, and Spatial Search for Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 20-38, February.
    8. Ugo Rizzo & Nicolò Barbieri & Laura Ramaciotti & Demian Iannantuono, 2020. "The division of labour between academia and industry for the generation of radical inventions," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 393-413, April.
    9. Capaldo, Antonio & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2011. "In search of alliance-level relational capabilities: Balancing innovation value creation and appropriability in R&D alliances," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 273-286, September.
    10. Hyun Ju Jung, 2020. "Recombination sources and breakthrough inventions: university-developed technology versus firm-developed technology," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 1121-1166, August.
    11. Michalis E. Papazoglou & Jen Nelles, 2023. "Keeping Pace with Technological Change: Insights into the Recency of Internal Knowledge Inputs," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 3724-3740, December.
    12. Gianluigi Giustiziero & Aseem Kaul & Brian Wu, 2019. "The Dynamics of Learning and Competition in Schumpeterian Environments," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 668-693, July.
    13. Hur, Wonchang & Oh, Junbyoung, 2021. "A man is known by the company he keeps?: A structural relationship between backward citation and forward citation of patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    14. Yuandi Wang & Xiongfeng Pan & Yantai Chen & Xin Gu, 2013. "Do references in transferred patent documents signal learning opportunities for the receiving firms?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 95(2), pages 731-752, May.
    15. Plantec, Quentin & Le Masson, Pascal & Weil, Benoît, 2021. "Impact of knowledge search practices on the originality of inventions: A study in the oil & gas industry through dynamic patent analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    16. Kathryn Rudie Harrigan & Maria Chiara Guardo & Bo Cowgill, 2017. "Multiplicative-innovation synergies: tests in technological acquisitions," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(5), pages 1212-1233, October.
    17. Zakaryan, Arusyak, 2023. "Organizational knowledge networks, search and exploratory invention," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    18. Yang, Hongyan & Steensma, H. Kevin, 2014. "When do firms rely on their knowledge spillover recipients for guidance in exploring unfamiliar knowledge?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1496-1507.
    19. Hanne Peeters & Julie Callaert & Bart Looy, 2020. "Do firms profit from involving academics when developing technology?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 494-521, April.
    20. Li, Zhengyu, 2016. "Essays on knowledge sourcing and technological capability : A knowledge structure perspective," Other publications TiSEM b8ff31fc-c57b-4bc3-b5a4-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:86:y:2018:i:c:p:190-201. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.