关键词: 开放式创新, 外部知识搜寻, 吸收能力, 互补性, 创新绩效, open innovation, external knowledge sourcing, absorptive capacity, complementarity, innovation performance

Abstract: It has been an instrumental way to utilize external knowledge to speed innovations. What on earth the relationship between internal R&D and external knowledge sourcing? Will too much reliance on external knowledge decrease the strategic importance of internal R&D? Based on survey data from 209 innovating firms in China, this paper investigates the interaction between internal R&D and external knowledge sourcing. The research manifests that external knowledge sourcing has a strong impact on innovative performance, but not all types of external partners have a similar impact on innovation performance. Furthermore, we find evidence for complementarity between internal R&D and collaboration with value chain partners (users and suppliers) and horizontal connections (competitors, and firms in other industries). However, we do not find support for complementarity between internal R&D and cooperation with universities and other technology-related organizations. Empirical evidence shows that the complementarity or substitutability is indeterminate and rely on firm’s absorptive capacity.