IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/techno/v48-49y2016ip69-78.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Standardization efforts: The relationship between knowledge dimensions, search processes and innovation outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Xie, Zongjie
  • Hall, Jeremy
  • McCarthy, Ian P.
  • Skitmore, Martin
  • Shen, Liyin

Abstract

We explore how a standardization effort (i.e., when a firm pursues standards to further innovation) involves different search processes for knowledge and innovation outcomes. Using an inductive case study of Vanke, a leading Chinese property developer, we show how varying degrees of knowledge complexity and codification combine to produce a typology of four types of search process: active, integrative, decentralized and passive, resulting in four types of innovation outcome: modular, radical, incremental and architectural. We argue that when the standardization effort in a firm involves highly codified knowledge, incremental and architectural innovation outcomes are fostered, while modular and radical innovations are hindered. We discuss how standardization efforts can result in a second-order innovation capability, and conclude by calling for comparative research in other settings to understand how standardization efforts can be suited to different types of search process in different industry contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Xie, Zongjie & Hall, Jeremy & McCarthy, Ian P. & Skitmore, Martin & Shen, Liyin, 2016. "Standardization efforts: The relationship between knowledge dimensions, search processes and innovation outcomes," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 48, pages 69-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:techno:v:48-49:y:2016:i::p:69-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2015.12.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166497215000929
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.technovation.2015.12.002?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. David J. TEECE, 2008. "Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 5, pages 67-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Kano, Sadahiko, 2000. "Technical innovations, standardization and regional comparison -- a case study in mobile communications," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 305-321, May.
    3. Richard L Daft & Juhani Sormunen & Don Parks, 1988. "Chief executive scanning, environmental characteristics, and company performance: An empirical study," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(2), pages 123-139, March.
    4. Marc Rysman & Timothy Simcoe, 2008. "Patents and the Performance of Voluntary Standard-Setting Organizations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(11), pages 1920-1934, November.
    5. Narayanan, V.K. & Chen, Tianxu, 2012. "Research on technology standards: Accomplishment and challenges," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1375-1406.
    6. Surya Mahdi, 2003. "Search strategy in product innovation process: theory and evidence from the evolution of agrochemical lead discovery process," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 12(2), pages 235-270, April.
    7. Tether, Bruce S. & Hipp, Christiane & Miles, Ian, 2001. "Standardisation and particularisation in services: evidence from Germany," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1115-1138, August.
    8. 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.
    9. Unruh, Gregory C., 2000. "Understanding carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 817-830, October.
    10. Tassey, Gregory, 2000. "Standardization in technology-based markets," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 587-602, April.
    11. Fabrizio, Kira R., 2009. "Absorptive capacity and the search for innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 255-267, March.
    12. Dosi, Giovanni, 1993. "Technological paradigms and technological trajectories : A suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 102-103, April.
    13. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    14. 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.
    15. Wright, Christopher & Sturdy, Andrew & Wylie, Nick, 2012. "Management innovation through standardization: Consultants as standardizers of organizational practice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 652-662.
    16. von Hippel, Eric & Franke, Nikolaus & Prügl, Reinhard, 2009. "Pyramiding: Efficient search for rare subjects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 1397-1406, November.
    17. Maurizio Zollo & Sidney G. Winter, 2002. "Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 339-351, June.
    18. Lars Bo Jeppesen & Karim R. Lakhani, 2010. "Marginality and Problem-Solving Effectiveness in Broadcast Search," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 1016-1033, October.
    19. Aija Elina Leiponen, 2008. "Competing Through Cooperation: The Organization of Standard Setting in Wireless Telecommunications," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(11), pages 1904-1919, November.
    20. Lori Rosenkopf & Paul Almeida, 2003. "Overcoming Local Search Through Alliances and Mobility," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(6), pages 751-766, June.
    21. 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.
    22. Kamp, Linda M. & Smits, Ruud E. H. M. & Andriesse, Cornelis D., 2004. "Notions on learning applied to wind turbine development in the Netherlands and Denmark," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(14), pages 1625-1637, September.
    23. Oded Shenkar & Jiatao Li, 1999. "Knowledge Search in International Cooperative Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 134-143, April.
    24. Gao, Ping & Yu, Jiang & Lyytinen, Kalle, 2014. "Government in standardization in the catching-up context: Case of China's mobile system," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 200-209.
    25. Smith, Adrian & Voß, Jan-Peter & Grin, John, 2010. "Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: The allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 435-448, May.
    26. X. Lecocq & B. Demil, 2006. "Strategizing industry structure: the case of open systems in a low-tech industry," Post-Print hal-00185305, HAL.
    27. Groesser, Stefan N., 2014. "Co-evolution of legal and voluntary standards: Development of energy efficiency in Swiss residential building codes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-16.
    28. Benezech, Daniele & Lambert, Gilles & Lanoux, Blandine & Lerch, Christophe & Loos-Baroin, Jocelyne, 2001. "Completion of knowledge codification: an illustration through the ISO 9000 standards implementation process," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1395-1407, December.
    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. René Lindner & Carmen Jaca & Josune Hernantes, 2021. "A Good Practice for Integrating Stakeholders through Standardization—The Case of the Smart Mature Resilience Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Lhuillery, Stéphane & Tellechea, Marion & Thiéry, Stéphanie, 2023. "Innovation in lieu of compliance: Internal audit departments’ standardized and non-standardized knowledge sources," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. Baruk Jerzy, 2020. "The Volume and Dynamics of Domestic Expenditures on Research and Development in the European Union," Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations, Sciendo, vol. 38(4), pages 21-48, December.
    4. Baruk Jerzy, 2019. "Financial aspects of research and development policy in the European Union," Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations, Sciendo, vol. 33(3), pages 1-26, September.
    5. Cammarano, Antonello & Michelino, Francesca & Lamberti, Emilia & Caputo, Mauro, 2017. "Accumulated stock of knowledge and current search practices: The impact on patent quality," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 204-222.
    6. Geerten Kaa & Eric Viardot & Ian P. McCarthy, 2022. "Standardization for platform ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 1807-1811, December.
    7. Miroslav Behan & Ondrej Krejcar & Thabit Sabbah & Ali Selamat, 2019. "Sensorial Network Framework Embedded in Ubiquitous Mobile Devices," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, October.
    8. Hong Jiang & Sipeng Gao & Yang Song & Kuang Sheng & Gehan A. J. Amaratunga, 2019. "An Empirical Study on the Impact of Collaborative R&D Networks on Enterprise Innovation Performance Based on the Mediating Effect of Technology Standard Setting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Ogink, Ruben H.A.J. & Goossen, Martin C. & Romme, A. Georges L. & Akkermans, Henk, 2023. "Mechanisms in open innovation: A review and synthesis of the literature," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Ozoko Emmanuel Eberechukwu & Ede, Titus Eguji, 2020. "Effect Of Learning On The Product Quality Of Chemical And Pharmaceutical Firms In Enugu State, Nigeria," Noble International Journal of Social Sciences Research, Noble Academic Publsiher, vol. 5(7), pages 102-113, July.
    11. Habib, Tufail & Kristiansen, Jimmi Normann & Rana, Mohammad Bakhtiar & Ritala, Paavo, 2020. "Revisiting the role of modular innovation in technological radicalness and architectural change of products: The case of Tesla X and Roomba," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Marin Alexandru & Boanță Laura, 2018. "Intangible assets as “nucleus” of process innovation," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 592-600, May.
    13. Lee, Won Sang & Sohn, So Young, 2018. "Effects of standardization on the evolution of information and communications technology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 308-317.
    14. Jeong-hoon Lee & Jin-sung Kim & Hak-ju Lee & Young-Min Lee & Hyung-Geun Kim, 2019. "Small-Scale Public Rental Housing Development Using Modular Construction—Lessons learned from Case Studies in Seoul, Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.

    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. Peeters, T.J.G., 2013. "External knowledge search and use in new product development," Other publications TiSEM 300ebb34-b090-4210-b95e-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Adrián Kovács & Bart Looy & Bruno Cassiman, 2015. "Exploring the scope of open innovation: a bibliometric review of a decade of research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(3), pages 951-983, September.
    3. 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.
    4. Jong, Simcha & Slavova, Kremena, 2014. "When publications lead to products: The open science conundrum in new product development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 645-654.
    5. Nilanjana Dutt & Will Mitchell, 2020. "Searching for knowledge in response to proximate and remote problem sources: Evidence from the U.S. renewable electricity industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(8), pages 1412-1449, August.
    6. Gurneeta Vasudeva & Elizabeth A. Alexander & Stephen L. Jones, 2015. "Institutional Logics and Interorganizational Learning in Technological Arenas: Evidence from Standard-Setting Organizations in the Mobile Handset Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 830-846, June.
    7. Henri A. Schildt & Markku V.J. Maula & Thomas Keil, 2005. "Explorative and Exploitative Learning from External Corporate Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(4), pages 493-515, July.
    8. Mohammadi, Ali & Broström, Anders & Franzoni, Chiara, 2015. "Work Force Composition and Innovation: How Diversity in Employees’ Ethnical and Disciplinary Backgrounds Facilitates Knowledge Re-combination," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 413, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    9. Jacob, Jojo & Belderbos, René & Lokshin, Boris, 2023. "Entangled modes: Boundaries to effective international knowledge sourcing through technology alliances and technology-based acquisitions," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    10. Laurence Capron & Will Mitchell, 2009. "Selection Capability: How Capability Gaps and Internal Social Frictions Affect Internal and External Strategic Renewal," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 294-312, April.
    11. Rajneesh Narula & Andrea Martínez-Noya, 2014. "International R&D Alliances by Firms: Origins and Development," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2014-06, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    12. Sam Arts & Lee Fleming, 2018. "Paradise of Novelty—Or Loss of Human Capital? Exploring New Fields and Inventive Output," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1074-1092, December.
    13. 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.
    14. Andreea N. Kiss & Dirk Libaers & Pamela S. Barr & Tang Wang & Miles A. Zachary, 2020. "CEO cognitive flexibility, information search, and organizational ambidexterity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 2200-2233, December.
    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. Wiegmann, Paul Moritz & de Vries, Henk J. & Blind, Knut, 2017. "Multi-mode standardisation: A critical review and a research agenda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1370-1386.
    17. Louise Lindbjerg & Theodor Vladasel, 2021. "Hiring Entrepreneurs for Innovation," Working Papers 1309, Barcelona School of Economics.
    18. 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).
    19. Kokshagina, Olga & Le Masson, Pascal & Bories, Florent, 2017. "Fast-connecting search practices: On the role of open innovation intermediary to accelerate the absorptive capacity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 232-239.
    20. Blind, Knut & Mangelsdorf, Axel, 2016. "Motives to standardize: Empirical evidence from Germany," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 48, pages 13-24.

    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:techno:v:48-49:y:2016:i::p:69-78. 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.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01664972 .

    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.