Studies in Science of Science ›› 2024, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (11): 2409-2420.

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Research on the impact of digital technology affordance on cross-border innovation

  

  • Received:2023-11-16 Revised:2024-05-09 Online:2024-12-15 Published:2024-12-15

数字技术可供性对跨界创新的影响研究

奉小斌1,肖博文1,郑汉忠1,2   

  1. 1. 浙江理工大学
    2.
  • 通讯作者: 奉小斌
  • 基金资助:
    数字化情境性企业跨界创新的动因、机理与演化研究;逆向国际化企业跨界搜索及其绩效提升机理研究:决策导向视角;数字化情境下企业跨界创新对绩效的影响机制研究;不确定环境下企业跨界创新的内涵结构、组态动因与作用机制研究

Abstract: With the rapid development of digital technology, innovation activities can break through industrial boundaries. Internet companies, represented by Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, use digital technology to constantly cross-border into new fields, forcing traditional industry enterprises to break through the original innovation system or boundary. Cross-border innovation has become an important means for enterprises to expand markets and make technological breakthroughs. However, digital technology shows different adaptability in different enterprises, which is mainly manifested in the different utilization rates of different functions of digital technology, which embodies the characteristics of affordance. The affordance of digital technology comes from the enterprise's exploration of the potential of digital technology, which refers to the feasibility of actors using digital technology to implement specific actions, mapping out effective paths to achieve cross-border innovation at the innovation goal level and constraining the innovation decision of enterprises, and guiding enterprises to choose matching digital resource acquisition and allocation modes at the innovation realization level. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore the influence mechanism of digital technology affordance on cross-border innovation of enterprises. Previous studies on the influence of digital technology on cross-border innovation mostly focused on the perspective of organizational structure change and innovation paradigm change, but the influence of digital technology characteristics, including digital technology availability, on cross-border innovation is still unclear. Based on the affordance theory and co-opetition theory, according?to?cumulative affordance (CA)?and?variant affordance (VA) level, this paper used the data of 486 enterprises to discuss the differential impact of digital technology affordance on cross-border innovation and the moderating effect of co-opetition relationship. The results show that: The coupling of high CA–low VA has a positive effect on incremental cross-border innovation. The coupling of low CA–high VA has a positive effect on radical cross-border innovation. The coupling of high CA–high VA has a positive effect on ambidextrous cross-border innovation. Cooperation relationship positively moderates the relationship between the coupling of high CA–low VA and incremental cross-border innovation. Competition relationship positively moderates the relationship between the coupling of low CA–high VA and radical cross-border innovation. Co-opetition balance positively moderates the relationship between the coupling of high CA–high VA and ambidextrous cross-border innovation. This study enriches the research on the relationship between digital technology affordance and cross-border innovation, provides a new way to understand why enterprises can achieve more successful cross-border innovation and a new perspective for enterprises to carry out cross-border innovation. Firstly, enterprises should comprehensively consider the cognition and application ability of digital technology, and choose the appropriate cross-border innovation model. Secondly, enterprises should exert the synergistic effect of different functions of digital technology, and maintain the mutual cooperation between different digital technology functions. Finally, enterprises should make full use of the co-opetition relationship with cross-border partners to serve different cross-border innovation models, while avoiding the adverse effects caused by excessive competition and cooperation.

摘要: 数字经济的快速发展模糊了产业边界,以数字技术为支撑的跨界创新成为创新发展的新范式。基于可供性理论与竞合理论,对486家企业的调研数据进行实证分析,从积累可供性和变异可供性耦合角度探讨了数字技术可供性对跨界创新的差异化影响以及竞合关系的调节作用。研究发现:高积累可供性—低变异可供性的耦合对渐进式跨界创新有积极作用;低积累可供性—高变异可供性的耦合对突破式跨界创新有积极作用;高积累可供性—高变异可供性的耦合对双元跨界创新互补有积极作用;合作关系正向调节高—低耦合与渐进式跨界创新的关系;竞争关系正向调节低—高耦合与突破式跨界创新的关系;竞合平衡正向调节高—高耦合与双元跨界创新互补的关系。研究结论不仅丰富了数字技术可供性与跨界创新的关系研究,也为企业如何实现跨界创新提供了新视角。