• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2015

This paper aims to explore the small and medium sized enterprises'(SMEs') technological innovation through an open innovative strategy. Researchers have identified open innovation as external search 'breadth' and 'depth'. Although an open innovation strategy is well known as an effective way for SMEs' innovation, this stream of research examines differences between pursuing breadth of external knowledge and depth of external knowledge for SEMs' innovation. The sample comprises a total of 1106 SMEs included in the Korean Innovation Survey, and logistic regression analysis and odds ratio comparison were used to evaluate the relationship between external knowledge search and innovation outcomes. The results show that both 'breadth' and 'depth' positively affect the SMEs' innovation. When SMEs are simultaneously pursuing external searching for breadth and depth, however, a negative result on innovation outcome followed because of the lack of their internal resources and capacities. Despite these contributions, we have certain limitations that can be regarded as means of future research. Even though breadth and depth are adopted to measure the way of how a firm sources the external knowledge, companies may place the different weight on each source of knowledge. And also, it is difficult to understand how the knowledge gained through external search contributes to a firm's incremental and radical innovation, respectively.

• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.95-115
• /
• 2015

This paper attempts to delineate and analyze the relationship between organizational search activities and organizational ambidexterity. A growing number of studies confirm that organizational ambidexterity is important for firm survival and long-term prosperity. However, research on how to achieve ambidexterity is still limited. To date, structural separation, contextul ambidexterity, and top management team attributes are proposed and examined as major antecedents of organizational ambidexterity. In this paper, I argue that orgnizational search may influence ambidexterity through its effect on exxploratory innovation and exploitative innovation. Since little study has been paid to uncover the relationship between knowledge search and ambidexterity, I develop theoretical arguments and propose some propositions rather than examine hypotheses. The propositions developed in the study are as follows; P1: The breadth of internal search is positively associated with exploratory innovation; P2: The breadth of external search has a reverse U-shaped relationship with exploratory innovation; P3: The depth of internal search is positively associated with exploitative innovation; P4: The depth of external search has a reverse U-shaped relationship with exploitative innovation; P5: The interaction between internal search breadth and internal search depth is positively associated with organizational ambidexterity; P6: The interaction between external search breadth and external search depth is positively associated with organizational ambidexterity. Based on the above propositions, I suggest some considerations for empirical research and propose avenues for future research.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.93-102
• /
• 2018

This study suggests external knowledge search as a way of creating knowledge and efforts for reaching out to the innovation and examines the relationship between innovation speed and the breadth and depth of external knowledge search. As a part of efforts to overcome the limitations of the routines of external knowledge search in the domestic market, the efforts of a firm to enter the foreign market have been examined with a moderate effect. Although previous research focused on exploration of external knowledge that is mostly effected in single country or similar industry, this study expands it by introducing the concept of market expansion and empirically inspect the interaction effect. 818 valid samples used in this study are based on the innovation survey published by STEPI and empirical results are as follows. First, the breadth and depth of external knowledge search have a positive impact on innovation speed. Second, export performance as the effect of expanding the market has a moderating effect on the speed of innovation. Third, younger companies prefer various networks while older companies prefer depth networks in order to increase the speed.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.299-331
• /
• 2017

This research details firm knowledge search types based on the locus and features for Korean firms in the knowledge-based industry, and then analyzes differences in innovation performance according to the types from the view of a configurational approach. Existing research has mainly concentrated on establishing a relation between knowledge search and outcome variables. Consequently, firms have relatively insufficient understanding of how to systematize knowledge search. Hence, this research classifies knowledge search into four dimensions-external search breadth, external search depth, internal search breadth, and internal search depth-by the locus and features of search. Furthermore, the research draws actual types of knowledge search of firms and analyzes differences in innovation performance. The main result of the research is as follows. First, the research reasons out six clusters of firms which have a dissimilar knowledge search type. Each cluster shows differences while participating in every dimension of knowledge search or few dimensions. Second, as for innovation performance, each cluster shows different exploitative and exploratory innovation performance according to their knowledge search type. This research applies a configurational approach while existing research applied a reductionistic approach, thereby establishing the major contribution which enables us to study a phenomenon as it comes, not to analyze variables and relationships of variables. Lastly, the research suggests a future direction of research based on the result of this research.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 2018

Purpose - This study investigates the moderation effect of internal factor, a firms size, on the external knowledge sourcing strategy and its effectiveness in generating radical innovation. We incorporate concepts of breadth and depth as two measures to gauge the degree of openness in firms external search Research design and methodology - The dependent variable in the regression model is the percentage of innovative sales and therefore, Tobit regression is employed for estimating significant factors affecting on the ratio of first-to-market by breadth and depth in external knowledge, internationalization, and size. Results - The results show that the external knowledge, in terms of both breadth and depth, has a positive relationship with radical innovation. However internationalization as external knowledge resources is not statistically accepted. Firm size has moderating effect on innovation negatively only in case of using external knowledge resources to a high degree. Conclusions - Firms obtain external information mostly from customers, competitors, and suppliers etc. empirical knowledge in terms of scope and intensity is an important contributor to innovation. And intensity use of external knowledge and information resources can work in favor of smaller firms rather than larger ones. Internationalization seems to have little effect on innovation but it requires further researches with clear criteria and more data.

• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.49-72
• /
• 2016

Extant research on firm innovation productivity is limited in measuring the innovation productivity, in which they measured firm innovation productivity by using either inputs or outputs of innovation. The present study complemented the extant research by employing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to measure firm innovation productivity. Furthermore, this paper examined the effects of firms' external knowledge search, as one of open innovation practices, on firm innovation productivity, for open innovation activities are regarded as an influencing factor on firm innovation productivity in the previous literatures. Using the data of the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) of manufacturing industries conducted in 2008, this study developed hypotheses in which we considered not only two dimensions of external knowledge search (breadth and depth) but also two subtypes of external knowledge search (market-driven and science-driven). The results found that searching deeply and market-driven search are positively related to firm innovation productivity, but science-driven search is somewhat negatively related to firm innovation productivity. Furthermore, market-driven search can mitigate the negative effect of science-driven search on innovation productivity.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.173-180
• /
• 2014

In this research, we aim to analyze how different external knowledge search strategies of small and medium enterprises affect technological innovation. In particular, since there has been little comparison between Korean small and medium firms, we investigated the differences of the two groups by employing the "Korean Innovation Survey 2010." As a result, it was found that "external search breadth", which refers to expanding the spectrum of external knowledge search due to lack of resources and capabilities inside small firms, spurred technological innovation. On the other hand, "external search depth", which implies seeking a long-term and close relationship with the subjects that provide outside knowledge for medium firms, catalyzed technological innovation. These results emphasize that we need to separately analyze technological innovation of small and medium firms, which was, in most previous studies, viewed as one group, i.e. SMEs. In addition, the results can be, from the perspective of a firm's growth, interpreted as follows. That is, it is more effective to formulate a "diversity" pursuing strategy in the "small firm" stage where little time has passed since its establishment, whilst it is more useful to apply a "focus" strategy on sophisticated knowledge in the "medium firm" stage where a firm has grown to some extent.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2014

This study examines the relationship between firms' external search strategy and their innovation performance. In addition to revisiting the relationship between open search strategy and product innovation, we further extend the impact of use of external knowledge sources to process and organizational innovation. Using the 2010 Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) of manufacturing firms, we report that on average, venture firms search more widely (external search breadth) and deeply (external search depth) across a variety of external search channels than non-venture firms. We then further explore the impact of venture and non-venture firms' use of external search strategies on innovation performance. We find that both searching widely and deeply increase the likelihood of non-venture firm's successes in product, process and organizational innovation. Similar results can be found for the venture firm's success in organizational innovation. However, only searching deeply increases the likelihood of venture firms' success in product and process innovation.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.12
• /
• pp.207-215
• /
• 2018

This study started from the point that the most important SMEs in the economic growth engine of Korea are prepared to grow through innovation. This study focuses on the fact that existing studies have focused on the open innovation of SMEs has been continued since the external knowledge search became an important concept, but mainly focused on the enterprise performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of innovation speed focusing on exports to Korean SMEs. The hypothesis suggests the depth and breadth of external knowledge search, which is the two methods of open innovation emphasized in the previous studies, and then shows the innovation speed on export performance as a moderating effect. Robust regression analysis was used for the analysis and the sample used for the analysis was valid 1,357 SMEs data. The hypothesis test for the moderation effect was performed by comparing the F-values between models. The proposed hypothesis was adopted and the moderation effect was verified.