How does the second-order learning process moderate the relationship between innovation inputs and outputs of large Korean firms?

We investigate how the second-order learning process moderates the relationship between innovation performance and two types of knowledge seeking behavior, namely exploration and exploitation. We reinvestigate the second-order learning process of the top 100 Korean firms from 1997 to 2007 by capturing CEO turnover, board turnover, and R&D alliances. We argue that the current findings about exploration and exploitation should be reclassified in terms of innovation input and output. We suggest that researchers investigate the organizational learning process to understand the link between innovation inputs and outputs. Our empirical results show that while innovation inputs are not related to exploratory outputs, the second-order learning process reshapes the relationship between both exploration/exploitation type innovation inputs and exploratory innovation outputs, and that the new focus of organizational learning process can refine current innovation literature. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014