Abstract: The role of breakthrough inventions in enterprise participation in global technology and market competition has been widely recognized, while how to create breakthrough inventions is still a hot issue of academic and business circles. Based on the knowledge search and recombination perspective and team learning theory, this paper focuses on the direct and interactive impact of diversity and novelty of knowledge combination on the formation of breakthrough inventions, and reveals the moderating effect of inventor team size on the relationship between knowledge combination characteristics and breakthrough inventions formation. Then, the empirical test was conducted with 8334 granted invention patents in the field of nanotechnology from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) during1989-2012. The results show that, first, compared with the diversity of knowledge combination, the novelty of knowledge combination has more significant positive impact on the formation of breakthrough inventions. Meanwhile, the diversity of knowledge combination and the novelty of knowledge combination have a significant positive interaction effect on the formation of breakthrough inventions. Second, the inventor team size has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between the diversity of knowledge combination and breakthrough inventions formation, but exerts a nonsignificant negative moderating effect on the relationship between the novelty of knowledge combination and breakthrough inventions formation. This study reveals the formation mechanism of breakthrough inventions from the perspective of both knowledge elements and inventors, which has important implications for firms’ team building and knowledge combination strategy in the pursuit of breakthrough inventions.

摘要： 突破性技术发明在企业参与全球技术和市场竞争中的作用已经得到广泛认可，但如何才能创造产生突破性技术发明仍是学术界和企业界关注的热点问题。本文基于知识搜索重组视角和团队学习理论，重点考察知识组合多样性、新颖性对突破性技术发明形成的直接影响程度和交互影响效应，并揭示发明人团队规模对知识组合特征与突破性技术发明形成关系的调节作用。基于美国专利商标局（USPTO）1989-2012年纳米技术领域的8334条授权发明专利进行实证检验，结果发现：（1）与知识组合多样性相比，知识组合新颖性对突破性技术发明形成的正向影响更为显著；同时，知识组合多样性与知识组合新颖性对突破性技术发明的形成具有显著的正向交互作用。（2）发明人团队规模对知识组合多样性与突破性技术发明形成的关系具有显著的正向调节作用，而对知识组合新颖性与突破性技术发明形成关系的负向调节作用不显著。本研究从知识元素和发明人视角系统揭示了突破性技术发明的形成机制，对企业面向突破性技术发明的发明人团队构建及知识组合战略实施具有重要启示。