Abstracts
Abstract
Spatially distributed knowledge in MNCs presents a challenge for the emergence of discontinuous innovations. Our study suggests that a firm’s ability to efficiently exploit international knowledge during the ‘fuzzy front end’ (FFE) depends on the relationship between international subsidiaries and the rest of the firm. Based on an in-depth case study in an international industrial firm, our empirical work identifies two coordination mechanisms firms can apply to manage their knowledge flows and thus reposition subsidiaries to favor discontinuous innovations: the managerial commitment towards local innovation activities, and the embeddedness of local employees into global innovation processes.
Keywords:
- Knowledge,
- Discontinuous innovation,
- MNCs,
- Global innovation process,
- Managerial Commitment
Résumé
Le fait que les connaissances sont localisées à distance représente un défi pour l’émergence des innovations discontinues dans les entreprises multinationales. Notre travail suggère que la capacité à exploiter efficacement les connaissances internationales au cours du processus d’innovation dépend de la relation entre les filiales internationales et le reste de l’entreprise. En s’appuyant sur une étude de cas dans une entreprise industrielle internationale, nous identifions deux mécanismes pour gérer ces flux de connaissances et ainsi repositionner les filiales pour favoriser les innovations discontinues : l’engagement managérial envers les activités d’innovation locales, et l’intégration des employés locaux dans les processus globaux.
Mots-clés :
- Connaissances,
- Innovations Discontinues,
- Entreprises Multinationales,
- Processus d’innovation global,
- Engagement managérial
Resumen
El hecho de que el conocimiento se localice a distancia representa un reto para la aparición de innovaciones discontinuas en las empresas multinacionales. Nuestro trabajo sugiere que la capacidad de explotar el conocimiento internacional durante el proceso de innovación depende de la relación entre las filiales internacionales y la empresa. A partir de un estudio de caso en una empresa industrial, identificamos dos mecanismos para gestionar estos flujos de conocimiento y reposicionar así a las filiales para fomentar las innovaciones discontinuas: el compromiso directivo con las actividades de innovación locales y la integración de los empleados en los procesos globales.
Palabras clave:
- Conocimiento,
- Innovaciones discontinuas,
- Empresas multinacionales,
- Proceso global de innovación,
- Compromiso directivo
Appendices
Bibliography
- Ardito, L., Natalicchio, A., Messeni Petruzzelli, A., Garavelli, A.C., 2018. Organizing for continuous technology acquisition: the role of R&D geographic dispersion. R & D Management 48, 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12270
- Balland, P.-A., Boschma, R., Frenken, K., 2015. Proximity and Innovation: From Statics to Dynamics. Regional Studies 49, 907–920. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2014.883598
- Bartlett, C.A., Ghoshal, S., 2002. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution, 2nd ed. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts.
- Bell, G.G., Zaheer, A., 2007. Geography, networks, and knowledge flow. Organization Science 18, 955–972. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0308
- Ben Mahmoud-Jouini, S., Burger-Helmchen, T., Charue-Duboc, F., Doz, Y., 2015. Global organization of innovation processes. Management International/International Management/Gestión Internacional 19, 112–120. https://doi.org/10.7202/1043080ar
- Björk, J., Magnusson, M., 2009. Where do good innovation ideas come from? Exploring the influence of network connectivity on innovation idea quality. Journal of Product Innovation Management 26, 662–670. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00691.x
- Blomqvist, K., Cook, K.S., 2018. Swift trust: State-of-the-art and future research directions, in: Searle, R.H., Nienaber, A.-M.I., Sitkin, S.B. (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Trust. Routledge, pp. 29–49.
- Cecchi, M.A., Grant, S., Seiler, M., Turner, N., Adams, R., Goffin, K., 2022. How COVID-19 impacted the tacit knowledge and social interaction of global NPD Project Teams. Research-Technology Management 65, 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2022.2020566
- Cohendet, P., Harvey, J.-F., Simon, L., 2013. Managing creativity in the firm: The fuzzy front end of innovation and dynamic capabilities, in: Burger-Helmchen, T. (Ed.), The Economics of Creativity: Ideas, Firms and Markets. Routledge, Oxon, pp. 131–150.
- Cohendet, P., Simon, L., 2007. Playing across the playground: Paradoxes of knowledge creation in the videogame firm. Journal of Organizational Behavior 28, 587–605. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.460
- De Brentani, U., Reid, S.E., 2012. The fuzzy front-end of discontinuous innovations: Insights for research and management. Journal of Product Innovation Management 29, 70–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2011.00879.x
- Duan, Y., Yang, M., Huang, L., Chin, T., Fiano, F., de Nuccio, E., Zhou, L., 2022. Unveiling the impacts of explicit vs. tacit knowledge hiding on innovation quality: The moderating role of knowledge flow within a firm. Journal of Business Research 139, 1489–1500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.068
- Eling, K., Herstatt, C., 2017. Managing the front end of innovation—less fuzzy, yet still not fully understood. Journal of Product Innovation Management 34, 864–874. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12415
- Enkel, E., Bogers, M., Chesbrough, H., 2020. Exploring open innovation in the digital age: a maturity model and future research directions. R&D Management 50, 161–168. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12397
- Ferraris, A., Bogers, M.L.A.M., Bresciani, S., 2020. Subsidiary innovation performance: Balancing external knowledge sources and internal embeddedness. Journal of International Management 26, 100794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2020.100794
- Ferreira, J., Mueller, J., Papa, A., 2020. Strategic knowledge management: theory, practice and future challenges. Journal of Knowledge Management 24, 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2018-0461
- Gama, F., Sjödin, D., Parida, V., Frishammar, J., Wincent, J., 2022. Exploratory and exploitative capability paths for innovation: A contingency framework for harnessing fuzziness in the front end. Technovation 113, 102416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2021.102416
- Garcia, R., Calantone, R., 2002. A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: A literature review. Journal of Product Innovation Management 19, 110–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5885.1920110
- Gassmann, O., Enkel, E., Chesbrough, H., 2010. The future of open innovation. R&D Management 40, 213–221. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2010.00605.x
- Gassmann, Olivier, Schweitzer, F., 2014. Managing the unmanageable: The fuzzy front end of innovation, in: Gassmann, Oliver, Schweitzer, F. (Eds.), Management of the Fuzzy Front End of Innovation. Springer International Publishing AG, New York, pp. 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01056-4_1
- Grant, R.M., 2002. The knowledge-based view of the firm, in: Choo, C.W., Bontis, N. (Eds.), The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 133–148.
- Griffin, A., Price, R.L., Vojak, B.A., Hoffman, N., 2014. Serial innovators’ processes: How they overcome barriers to creating radical innovations. Industrial Marketing Management 43, 1362–1371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2014.08.010
- Gupta, A.K., Govindarajan, V., 1991. Knowledge flows and the structure of control within multinational corporations. The Academy of Management Review 16, 768–792.
- Harvey, J.-F., Cohendet, P., Simon, L., Borzillo, S., 2015. Knowing communities in the front end of innovation. Research-Technology Management 58, 46–54. https://doi.org/10.5437/08956308X5801198
- Harvey, M.G., Griffith, D.A., 2007. The role of globalization, time acceleration, and virtual global teams in fostering successful global product launches. Journal of Product Innovation Management 24, 486–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2007.00265.x
- Harzing, A.-W., Noorderhaven, N., 2006a. Knowledge flows in MNCs: An empirical test and extension of Gupta and Govindarajan’s typology of subsidiary roles. International Business Review 15, 195–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2006.01.001
- Harzing, A.-W., Noorderhaven, N., 2006b. Geographical distance and the role and management of subsidiaries: The case of subsidiaries down-under. Asia Pacific Journal of Management 23, 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-006-7165-x
- Herstatt, C., Verworn, B., Nagahira, A., 2004. Reducing project related uncertainty in the” fuzzy front end” of innovation: a comparison of German and Japanese product innovation projects. International Journal of Product Development 1, 43–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31248-X_16
- Hohberger, J., Wilden, R., 2022. Geographic diversity of knowledge inputs: The importance of aligning locations of knowledge inputs and inventors. Journal of Business Research 145, 705–719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.016
- Ichijo, K., von Krogh, G., Nonaka, I., 1998. Knowledge enablers, in: von Krogh, G., Roos, J., Kleine, D. (Eds.), Knowing in Firms: Understanding, Managing and Measuring Knowledge. Sage Publications, London, pp. 173–203.
- Johanson, J., Vahlne, J.-E., 2009. The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership. Journal of International Business Studies 40, 1411–1431. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.24
- Kafouros, M., Hashai, N., Tardios, J.A., Wang, E.Y., 2022. How do MNEs invent? An invention-based perspective of MNE profitability. Journal of International Business Studies. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00499-y
- Kleinschmidt, E.J., De Brentani, U., Salomo, S., 2007. Performance of global new product development programs: A resource-based view. Journal of Product Innovation Management 24, 419–441. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2007.00261.x
- Koen, P., Ajamian, G., Burkart, R., Clamen, A., Davidson, J., D’Amore, R., Elkins, C., Herald, K., Incorvia, M., Johnson, A., others, 2001. Providing clarity and a common language to the fuzzy front end. Research-Technology Management 44, 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2001.11671418
- Koen, P.A., Bertels, H.M.J., Kleinschmidt, E.J., 2014. Managing the front end of innovation part-I. Research-Technology Management 57, 34–43. https://doi.org/10.5437/08956308X5703199
- Kogut, B., Zander, U., 1993. Knowledge of the firm and the evolutionary theory of the multinational corporation. Journal of International Business Studies 24, 625–645. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490248
- Markham, S.K., 2013. The impact of front-end innovation activities on product performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management 30, 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12065
- Markham, S.K., Ward, S.J., Aiman-Smith, L., Kingon, A.I., 2010. The valley of death as context for role theory in product innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management 27, 402–417. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2010.00724.x
- Mayrhofer, U., Urban, S., 2011. Management international: Des pratiques en mutation. Pearson Education France, Paris.
- Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M., 1994. Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. SAGE Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks.
- Mudambi, R., Swift, T., 2012. Multinational enterprises and the geographical clustering of innovation. Industry and Innovation 19, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2012.649058
- Neukam, M., 2017. Managing the fuzzy front-end in multicultural teams. European Journal of Innovation Management 20, 578–598. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-11-2016-0112
- Neukam, M., Guittard, C., 2018. Reach for the stars: knowledge sharing in international organizations. Journal of Innovation Economics Management 27, 9–35. https://doi.org/10.3917/jie.027.0009
- Noorderhaven, N., Harzing, A.-W., 2009. Knowledge-sharing and social interaction within MNEs. Journal of International Business Studies 40, 719–741. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2008.106
- Parjanen, S., 2012. Experiencing Creativity in the Organization: From Individual Creativity to Collective Creativity. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management 7, 109–128. https://doi.org/10.28945/1580
- Reid, S.E., De Brentani, U., 2004. The fuzzy front-end of new product development for discontinuous innovations: A theoretical model. Journal of Product Innovation Management 21, 170–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0737-6782.2004.00068.x
- Szulanski, G., 2003. Sticky Knowledge - Barriers to Knowing in the Firm. SAGE Publications Inc, London; Thousand Oaks.
- Verworn, B., Herstatt, C., Nagahira, A., 2008. The fuzzy front end of Japanese new product development projects: Impact on success and differences between incremental and radical projects. R&D Management 38, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2007.00492.x
- Von Krogh, G., Ichijo, K., Nonaka, I., 2000. Enabling knowledge creation: How to unlock the mystery of tacit knowledge and release the power of innovation. Oxford University Press on Demand.
- Von Zedtwitz, M., 2020. Communication and Knowledge Flows in Transnational R&D Projects, in: Tiwari, R., Buse, S. (Eds.), Managing Innovation in a Global and Digital World. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden, pp. 227–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27241-8_15
- Wang, M.-C., Chen, P.-C., Fang, S.-C., 2018. A critical view of knowledge networks and innovation performance: The mediation role of firms’ knowledge integration capability. Journal of Business Research 88, 222–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.03.034
- Yeung, H.W., 2021. Regional worlds: from related variety in regional diversification to strategic coupling in global production networks. Regional Studies 55, 989–1010. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2020.1857719
- Yin, R.K., 2003. Case study research: Design and methods. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks.