Article
The Role of External Technology Scouting in Inbound Open Innovation Generation: Evidence from High-technology Industries
IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
(2019)
Abstract
An external technology scouting is a commonly used open search method used by the firms to facilitate innovation. Drawing on a knowledge-based perspective and evolutionary theory on open innovation, this article proposes that the firms generate more innovations and capture better external technology if they possess well-developed absorptive capacity, that provides access to the innovative developments in an uncertain technological environment. We introduce our external technology scouting model of innovation outputs to explain how technology scouting and absorptive capacity predict firms’ inbound open innovation generation in a turbulent environment. Using a sample of 236 high-technology firms, we examine main, two-way, and three-way interaction effects for measures of inbound open innovation generation. The results indicate both main and moderating effects for both measures of performance, which are critical for innovation generations. A significant three-way interaction shows the joint effect of the technology turbulence, absorptive capacity, and external technology scouting on inbound open innovation generation. Our findings have notable managerial and research implications.
Disciplines
Publication Date
December, 2019
DOI
10.1109/TEM.2019.2956069
Publisher Statement
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Citation Information
Chun-Hsien Wang and Iris Xiaohong Quan. "The Role of External Technology Scouting in Inbound Open Innovation Generation: Evidence from High-technology Industries" IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/iris_quan/68/