IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jtecht/v44y2019i1d10.1007_s10961-017-9621-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of imitation strategy and R&D resources on incremental and radical innovation: evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

Author

Listed:
  • Jie Wu

    (University of Macau)

  • Kathryn Rudie Harrigan

    (Columbia University)

  • Siah Hwee Ang

    (Victoria University of Wellington)

  • Zefu Wu

    (City University of Macau)

Abstract

This study proposes and tests a theoretical framework that relates a firm’s imitation strategy and its interaction with R&D resources to incremental and radical innovation. The analysis of a panel dataset of 1381 Chinese manufacturing firms in the period 2008–2014 shows that imitation strategy is positively related to incremental innovation but has an inverted U-shaped relationship with radical innovation. More interestingly, R&D resources serve as a critical boundary condition of the imitation strategy–innovation link—they strengthen the link between imitation strategy and incremental innovation but weaken the link between imitation strategy and radical innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jie Wu & Kathryn Rudie Harrigan & Siah Hwee Ang & Zefu Wu, 2019. "The impact of imitation strategy and R&D resources on incremental and radical innovation: evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 210-230, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:44:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10961-017-9621-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-017-9621-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10961-017-9621-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10961-017-9621-9?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. Manuel Trajtenberg, 1990. "A Penny for Your Quotes: Patent Citations and the Value of Innovations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(1), pages 172-187, Spring.
    2. Wu, Jie, 2013. "Marketing capabilities, institutional development, and the performance of emerging market firms: A multinational study," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 36-45.
    3. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    4. Galasso, Alberto & Schankerman, Mark, 2015. "Patents and cumulative innovation: causal evidence from the courts," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 61614, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Palley, Thomas I., 1995. "Safety in numbers: A model of managerial herd behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 443-450, December.
    6. Lenard C. Huff & William T. Robinson, 1994. "Note: The Impact of Leadtime and Years of Competitive Rivalry on Pioneer Market Share Advantages," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(10), pages 1370-1377, October.
    7. Ilídio Barreto & Charles Baden‐Fuller, 2006. "To Conform or To Perform? Mimetic Behaviour, Legitimacy‐Based Groups and Performance Consequences," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(7), pages 1559-1581, November.
    8. Bikhchandani, Sushil & Hirshleifer, David & Welch, Ivo, 1992. "A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change in Informational Cascades," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(5), pages 992-1026, October.
    9. Frenz, Marion & Ietto-Gillies, Grazia, 2009. "The impact on innovation performance of different sources of knowledge: Evidence from the UK Community Innovation Survey," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1125-1135, September.
    10. Stefan Jonsson & Patrick Regnér, 2009. "Normative barriers to imitation: social complexity of core competences in a mutual fund industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 517-536, May.
    11. Robert D. Dewar & Jane E. Dutton, 1986. "The Adoption of Radical and Incremental Innovations: An Empirical Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(11), pages 1422-1433, November.
    12. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    13. Hausman, Jerry & Hall, Bronwyn H & Griliches, Zvi, 1984. "Econometric Models for Count Data with an Application to the Patents-R&D Relationship," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(4), pages 909-938, July.
    14. John E. Ettlie & William P. Bridges & Robert D. O'Keefe, 1984. "Organization Strategy and Structural Differences for Radical Versus Incremental Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 682-695, June.
    15. James D. Adams & Adam B. Jaffe, 1996. "Bounding the Effects of R&D: An Investigation Using Matched Establishment-Firm Data," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(4), pages 700-721, Winter.
    16. Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2001. "The NBER Patent Citation Data File: Lessons, Insights and Methodological Tools," NBER Working Papers 8498, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. 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.
    18. Ian MacMillan & Mary Lynn McCaffery & Gilles Van Wijk, 1985. "Competitors' responses to easily imitated new products—exploring commercial banking product introductions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 75-86, January.
    19. Laura B. Cardinal, 2001. "Technological Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Use of Organizational Control in Managing Research and Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 19-36, February.
    20. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    21. Kevin Zheng Zhou & Fang Wu, 2010. "Technological capability, strategic flexibility, and product innovation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 547-561, May.
    22. Katz, Michael L & Shapiro, Carl, 1985. "Network Externalities, Competition, and Compatibility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(3), pages 424-440, June.
    23. S.A. Lippman & R.P. Rumelt, 1982. "Uncertain Imitability: An Analysis of Interfirm Differences in Efficiency under Competition," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 418-438, Autumn.
    24. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    25. Riitta Katila, 2000. "Using patent data to measure innovation performance," International Journal of Business Performance Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1/2/3), pages 180-193.
    26. Odagiri, Hiroyuki, 1994. "Growth through Competition, Competition through Growth: Strategic Management and the Economy in Japan," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198288732.
    27. Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1990. "Herd Behavior and Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 465-479, June.
    28. Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Reproducing Knowledge: Replication Without Imitation at Moderate Complexity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 274-293, June.
    29. Sendil K. Ethiraj & David H. Zhu, 2008. "Performance effects of imitative entry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 797-817, August.
    30. Zvi Griliches, 1984. "R&D, Patents, and Productivity," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gril84-1, March.
    31. 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.
    32. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 287-343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    33. Carpenter, Mark P. & Narin, Francis & Woolf, Patricia, 1981. "Citation rates to technologically important patents," World Patent Information, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 160-163, October.
    34. Daniel A. Levinthal & James G. March, 1993. "The myopia of learning," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 95-112, December.
    35. David L. Deephouse, 1999. "To be different, or to be the same? It’s a question (and theory) of strategic balance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 147-166, February.
    36. James P. Walsh, 1995. "Managerial and Organizational Cognition: Notes from a Trip Down Memory Lane," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(3), pages 280-321, June.
    37. Abhijit V. Banerjee, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817.
    38. 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.
    39. Dahlin, Kristina B. & Behrens, Dean M., 2005. "When is an invention really radical?: Defining and measuring technological radicalness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 717-737, June.
    40. Sternitzke, Christian, 2010. "Knowledge sources, patent protection, and commercialization of pharmaceutical innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 810-821, July.
    41. Wu, Jie, 2012. "Technological collaboration in product innovation: The role of market competition and sectoral technological intensity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 489-496.
    42. Hun Lee & Ken G. Smith & Curtis M. Grimm & August Schomburg, 2000. "Timing, order and durability of new product advantages with imitation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 23-30, January.
    43. Jan W. Rivkin, 2000. "Imitation of Complex Strategies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(6), pages 824-844, June.
    44. Sushil Bikhchandani & David Hirshleifer & Ivo Welch, 1998. "Learning from the Behavior of Others: Conformity, Fads, and Informational Cascades," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 151-170, Summer.
    45. Shantanu Dutta & Allen M. Weiss, 1997. "The Relationship Between a Firm's Level of Technological Innovativeness and Its Pattern of Partnership Agreements," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(3), pages 343-356, March.
    46. Mooweon Rhee & Young-Choon Kim & Joon Han, 2006. "Confidence in Imitation: Niche-Width Strategy in the UK Automobile Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(4), pages 501-513, April.
    47. Kristina Dahlin & Deans M. Behrens, 2005. "When is an invention really radical? Defining and measuring technological radicalness," Post-Print hal-00480416, HAL.
    48. Alberto Galasso & Mark Schankerman, 2015. "Patents and Cumulative Innovation: Causal Evidence from the Courts," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 317-369.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jian Yang & Huadong Cheng, 2023. "Coupling Coordination between University Scientific & Technological Innovation and Sustainable Economic Development in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Lei Shen & Xi Zhang & Hongda Liu, 2022. "Digital technology adoption, digital dynamic capability, and digital transformation performance of textile industry: Moderating role of digital innovation orientation," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2038-2054, September.
    3. Davide Consoli & Fabrizio Fusillo & Gianluca Orsatti & Francesco Quatraro, 2021. "Skill endowment, routinisation and digital technologies: evidence from U.S. Metropolitan Areas," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(8), pages 1017-1045, September.
    4. Algarni, Mohammad A. & Ali, Murad & Leal-Rodríguez, Antonio L. & Albort-Morant, Gema, 2023. "The differential effects of potential and realized absorptive capacity on imitation and innovation strategies, and its impact on sustained competitive advantage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    5. Albert Amankwaa & Pattanee Susomrith & Pi-Shen Seet, 2022. "Innovative behavior among service workers and the importance of leadership: evidence from an emerging economy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 506-530, April.
    6. Guo, Feng & Bo, Qingwen & Tong, Xun & Zhang, Xiaofei, 2020. "A paradoxical view of speed and quality on operational outcome: An empirical investigation of innovation in high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    7. Samuel Adomako & Ernestine Ning & Emmanuel Adu‐Ameyaw, 2021. "Proactive environmental strategy and firm performance at the bottom of the pyramid," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 422-431, January.
    8. Panagiotis Tsolakidis & Naoum Mylonas & Eugenia Petridou, 2020. "The Impact of Imitation Strategies, Managerial and Entrepreneurial Skills on Startups’ Entrepreneurial Innovation," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-17, October.
    9. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Ahsan, Mujtaba, 2023. "Base of the pyramid orientation, imitation orientation and new product performance in an emerging market," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Zhao, Shasha & Liu, Xiaohui & Andersson, Ulf & Shenkar, Oded, 2022. "Knowledge management of emerging economy multinationals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    11. Nicola Del Sarto & Giulio Ferrigno & Vinit Parida & Alberto Minin, 2023. "Do start-ups benefit from coworking spaces? An empirical analysis of accelerators’ programs," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2471-2502, October.
    12. Chunhuan Xiao & Ziyin Zhuang, 2022. "Do R&D Tax Credits Incentivize Radical or Incremental Innovation? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.

    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. Barbieri, Nicolò & Marzucchi, Alberto & Rizzo, Ugo, 2020. "Knowledge sources and impacts on subsequent inventions: Do green technologies differ from non-green ones?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(2).
    2. Cho, Sam Yul & Kim, Sang Kyun, 2017. "Horizon problem and firm innovation: The influence of CEO career horizon, exploitation and exploration on breakthrough innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1801-1809.
    3. Verhoeven, Dennis & Bakker, Jurriën & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2016. "Measuring technological novelty with patent-based indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 707-723.
    4. 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.
    5. Wu, Jianfeng & Shanley, Mark T., 2009. "Knowledge stock, exploration, and innovation: Research on the United States electromedical device industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 474-483, April.
    6. Adam B. Jaffe & Gaétan de Rassenfosse, 2017. "Patent citation data in social science research: Overview and best practices," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(6), pages 1360-1374, June.
    7. 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.
    8. Gino Cattani, 2005. "Preadaptation, Firm Heterogeneity, and Technological Performance: A Study on the Evolution of Fiber Optics, 1970–1995," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(6), pages 563-580, December.
    9. Schön, Benjamin & Pyka, Andreas, 2013. "The success factors of technology-sourcing through mergers & acquisitions: An intuitive meta-analysis," FZID Discussion Papers 78-2013, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
    10. Chung-Jen Chen & Bou-Wen Lin & Jun-You Lin & Yung-Chang Hsiao, 2020. "Learning-from-parents: exploitative knowledge acquisition and the innovation performance of joint venture," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 228-258, February.
    11. Quintana-Garci­a, Cristina & Benavides-Velasco, Carlos A., 2008. "Innovative competence, exploration and exploitation: The influence of technological diversification," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 492-507, April.
    12. Kathryn Rudie Harrigan & Maria Chiara Guardo & Elona Marku, 2018. "Patent value and the Tobin’s q ratio in media services," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 1-19, February.
    13. Jaime Gómez & Raquel Orcos & Henk W. Volberda, 2021. "How imitation of multiple reference groups drives the evolution of firm strategy," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(8), pages 2319-2350, November.
    14. Vanhaverbeke, W.P.M. & Beerkens, B.E. & Duysters, G.M., 2003. "Explorative and exploitative learning strategies in technology-based alliance networks," Working Papers 03.22, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    15. Yuzhe Miao & Robert M. Salomon & Jaeyong Song, 2021. "Learning from Technologically Successful Peers: The Convergence of Asian Laggards to the Technology Frontier," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 210-232, January.
    16. 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).
    17. 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.
    18. Frank T. Rothaermel & Andrew M. Hess, 2007. "Building Dynamic Capabilities: Innovation Driven by Individual-, Firm-, and Network-Level Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 898-921, December.
    19. 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.
    20. Qu, Guannan & Chen, Jin & Zhang, Ruhao & Wang, Luyao & Yang, Yayu, 2023. "Technological search strategy and breakthrough innovation: An integrated approach based on main-path analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Imitation strategy; Incremental innovation; Radical innovation; R&D resources; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:jtecht:v:44:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10961-017-9621-9. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.