基于资源观的企业网络能力与创新绩效关系研究

【作者】 方刚；

【导师】 吴晓波；

【作者基本信息】 浙江大学 ， 管理科学与工程， 2008， 博士

【摘要】 在当前全球化、市场高度不确定以及技术发展日新月异的环境下,单个企业越来越难以全面掌握最新的知识和单独开发经营所需的所有技术,构建创新网络日益成为企业获取信息和知识及提高创新效率的重要手段,因而创新网络已经成为国内外学者关注的热点。然而,大量有关创新网络的研究多数是从社会网络理论出发,将研究重点放在网络的构造上,而不是从单个企业的视角出发来进行研究,从而无法分析单个企业的行为和战略如何影响其从创新网络中获益,以及如何实现和保持竞争优势。由此,本研究试图将战略管理理论领域的资源观引入到创新网络的研究领域,构建网络资源观理论体系,并进一步剖析单个企业依据创新网络获取竞争优势的过程和机理。本研究首先在对资源观理论、知识转移理论和社会网络理论的相关文献的梳理和评述的基础上,剖析网络资源的产生机理、分类和特征,根植于现有的相关研究,进而引出网络租金是网络资源的价值体现和经济学意义上的测度,从而将现有的资源观扩展为网络资源观。在此基础上,本研究提出了企业网络能力的概念和内涵,指出企业网络能力在运用网络资源的过程中发挥其作用,实现了网络资源成为竞争优势源泉的内在价值,本研究认为这是企业网络能力通过激活蕴涵在网络资源中的网络租金,并决定了企业获得这种额外收益的份额来实现的。从而,本研究在现有研究的基础上完善了网络资源观理论体系,更深入地解释了为什么同样参与创新网络的企业却具有不同的收益的原因。然后,基于对企业网络能力测度和量表的探索性和验证性因子分析,本研究提出了一个包含22个题项的企业网络能力的测度量表,并进一步运用多元回归分析的实证分析方法来探究企业提升网络能力的途径。接着,通过探索性案例分析和规范分析,构建了企业网络能力对企业创新水平影响机制的概念模型。最后,通过构建结构方程模型,对概念模型进行适当的修正并获得最终的确定模型,并运用多元回归的方法分析了不同的创新网络类型中各种网络能力的对企业创新水平具有的不同影响。由此,本研究从更为微观的层次指出了单个企业通过创新网络实现竞争优势的内在机理。通过上述研究工作,本研究得出如下主要结论:(1)创新网络的网络组态,本研究将其界定为网络结构、网络关系和网络位置,将影响创新网络中企业的知识获取和创新水平,并且这种影响关系受到了行业性质等因素的调节,这是社会网络领域的“权变理论”在创新网络相关研究中的具体表现;(2)网络资源的根本来源是企业网络中合作伙伴间的学习效应、溢出效应、协作效应和互补效应,本研究进一步辨识出三类网络资源:网络结构资源、网络关系资源和网络位置资源,这些网络资源具有共享性、价值性、稀缺性、难以模仿性和难以替代性等五大特征,是网络企业获取和保持竞争优势的基础。其中,共享性特征是网络资源区别于企业内部资源的最主要的特征;(3)各种类型的网络资源都能提供网络租金,这种网络租金为网络成员共享但在网络成员间的分配并不均衡,其获取比例由网络成员间网络能力的水平对比确定。通过对创新网络环境下网络资源、网络租金和网络能力的概念界定和内涵分析,本研究辨析了三者之间以及它们与竞争优势之间的本质关系:首先,网络资源是网络租金的来源,而网络租金是企业竞争优势的表征,也是网络资源的价值体现;其次,网络资源是网络能力的基础,而网络能力在运用网络资源的过程中发挥其作用,实现了网络资源成为竞争优势源泉的内在价值;最后,网络能力激活了蕴涵在网络资源中的网络租金,并确定企业获得这种额外收益的份额,网络租金正是网络能力发挥作用的成果;(4)企业网络能力可以分成网络规划能力、网络配置能力、网络运作能力和网络占位能力四种,本研究的实证结果表明企业的IT成熟度、文化开放度、网络管理体系和网络活动经验都能够正向影响企业的网络能力水平,因而企业可以通过改善上述各种因素的水平来实现提升企业网络能力的水平;(5)企业网络能力对企业创新绩效的促进作用更多地是通过正向影响知识转移实现的,即知识转移在其中起到了中介作用;(6)创新网络的类型,即探索型创新网络和利用型创新网络,分别在网络配置能力和网络运作能力与知识转移之间的关系中,以及在网络配置能力和网络运作能力与创新绩效之间的关系中起到调节作用,在探索性创新网络中,企业的网络配置能力对提升企业获得的知识转移绩效和创新绩效更为重要;而在利用性创新网络中,企业的网络运作能力对提升企业获得的知识转移绩效和创新绩效更为重要。通过网络资源观理论体系的构建,本研究深入论证了企业的竞争优势也可以来自于企业间的关系网络,试图在以下几个方面进行创新并作出相应的理论贡献:(1)突破传统的以整个创新网络为视角的研究方法,通过透析处于创新网络中的企业异质性资源的获取机理,以创新网络中单个企业的视角出发,提出企业如何在创新网络中获得和保持竞争优势,为创新网络的研究提供一个新的视角,拓展了该领域内的研究;(2)在理论分析的基础上,将资源观引入创新网络研究领域,构建和完善了网络资源观,明晰了网络资源、网络能力和网络租金等相关概念,揭示了它们之间的内在本质关系,从更为微观的层次上指出了单个企业通过创新网络实现竞争优势的内在机理;(3)界定和剖析了企业网络能力的概念内涵和其在网络环境下企业发挥竞争优势中的积极作用,并分析了网络能力的分类和测度;(4)探索性地提出影响网络成员企业的网络能力的一些主要因素,从实践上为处于创新网络中的企业提高组织学习和创新绩效指出了方向;(5)结合资源观、社会网络理论、知识转移理论和技术创新理论,揭示企业网络能力影响企业创新绩效的基本路径和内在机制,并进一步发现了创新网络类型在上述影响关系中的调节作用,为下一步动态研究企业网络能力的发展和配置提供了理论基础。本研究划分为二个部分共五个子研究逐步深入展开论述。第一部分包括子研究一、子研究二和子研究三,致力于网络资源观的构建,以及对网络资源观中最重要的概念——企业网络能力的分析。具体来说,子研究一进行基于资源观的创新网络的理论构建,主要包括网络资源的辨析,网络租金的来源与分配,网络能力的内涵,以及网络企业竞争优势的形成与保持;子研究二通过理论分析和数据统计分析,对企业网络能力进行划分,剖析各种网络能力的内涵和作用,分析和验证企业网络能力的测度方法和量表;子研究三在文献梳理和规范分析的基础上,识别出影响各种网络能力的组织内因素,并基于实证数据运用多元线性回归的方法进行验证。本研究的第二部分包括子研究四和子研究五,将企业的创新绩效视为网络租金的一个重要表征,以阐明企业网络能力对企业竞争优势的促进作用及其影响机制。具体来说,子研究四运用规范的多案例分析方法,探究企业网络能力对企业创新绩效的影响机制;子研究五首先通过构建企业网络能力对创新绩效影响机制研究概念模型,然后基于实证数据运用结构方程和多元回归的方法对研究模型进行验证,着重分析了知识转移的中介作用和创新网络类型的调节作用。最后,本文阐述了本研究存在的不足及今后进一步深入研究的方向。更多还原

【Abstract】 For the globalization, high uncertainty of market and rapidly changing technology environment, individual firms find it increasingly difficult to master the lasted knowledge and meet the requirements of technologies for development and operation. For firms, building innovation network is becoming an important way to acquire information and knowledge, and to improve the efficiency of innovation as well. So the topic of innovation network has become the focus of many scholars’ attention. However, the researches of innovation network are mostly from the theory of social network, and the point of these researches is mainly focus on the configuration of the network rather than from the perspective of single firm. This has resulted in that we can not analyze the effect of behaviors and strategy of single firm on its benefit from the innovation network and how the firm attain and maintain the competitive advantage. In this dissertation, through resource based view of the firm being introduced to the field of innovation network, and a theory of RBV in the context of network being proposed in this study, the process and the way of capturing competitive advantage by single firm based on the innovation network is revealed.Based on the theory of RBV and existing literatures, the mechnasim of generation, classification and characters of network resource are analyzed firstly in this study. Then the signification of network rents is emphasized by illuminating that network rents are measure of network resources in the view of economics. Thus, the dissertation extends the RBV to the context of interfirm network. Based on this extended RBV, the concept of network capability and its connotation are defined. And this dissertation point out that network capability plays a role in the process of operating network resources to actualize their potential value for competitive advantage. It is the network capability that enables the network rents which embed in network resource and decides the proportion of the additional benefit which the firm gets from network. And this theory reveals the reason why firms obtain different benefits in the same innovation network. Secondly, through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, this dissertation comes up with a method to measure network capability. By usinge the method of multiple regression, the approachs for the firms to improve their network capability are also analized. Thirdly, through the exploratory case study and normative analysis, a conceptual model that reveals the effect of the network capability on innovation is bulit. At last, structural equation is used to revise the model and analyze the effect of different network capabilities on firms’ innovation levels in different types of innovation networks. So far, the mechanism of single firm to achieve the competitive advantage in more microcosmic level is revealed.The conclusions of this dissertation are: (1) the network configuration, which comprises network structure, network relationship and network position, will impact significantly networked firm’s knowledge acquirement and its innovation performance; (2) the network resource comes from the learning effect, the spillover effect, synergy effect and complementarily effect between the firms in the network. The network resource can be classified as three types: network structure resource, network relationship resource and network position resource, which all have the characters of share, value, scarcity, difficult to imitation and difficult to substitute; (3) all of the three types network resources can provide network rents, these rents are shared but not equally by the members of network. The proportion of rents that firms get depends on their network capability. This reveals the essential relationships between network resource, network rents and network capability: First of all, network rents come from the network resources. Furthermore, network rent is the representative of the competitive advantage and the value of the network resource. Second, network resource is the foundation of the network capability, the function of network capability is activated in the process of using network resource by firm. It enables the network resource to be a potential value resource of the competitive advantage. At last, network capability activates the network rents in the network resource, and make sure that the firm get the additional benefit; (4) the network capability can be classified as: network visioning capability, network constructing capability, network operating capability and network constructing capability. Some factors, such as maturity of IT, openness of culture, management system involved, experience of participation in network, have a positive effect on the network capability of the firm; (5) the impact of network capability on innovation performance is realized through knowledge transfer between network partners, namely, knowledge transfer is the mediator; and (6) the type of innovation network, exporation network or exploitation network, has moderator effect on the relationship of network capability and knowledge transfer, and network capability and innovation performance as well. In the exploration network, network constructing capability has more effect on the performance of the knowledge transfer and innovation. In the exploitation network, network operating capability has more effect on the performance of the knowledge transfer and innovation.By building the RBV in the context of network, this dissertation point out that the competitive advantage can also come from the interfirm network, and try to make some innovation in the following points: (1) to break through the traditional perspective which fucoses on the whole innovation network. From the view of single firm in the innovation network, the approach of acq-uiring and maintaining competitive advantage of the firm through some heterogeneity resource in the innovation network is put forward. It provides a new perspective to the study of innovation network, and extends the research of this field; (2) based on the theoretical analysis, RBV is extended to the context of interfirm network. Meanwhile, the concepts of network resource, network capability and network rents are clarified, and the essential relationships between them are revealed; (3) the role of network capability in the process of the firm in acquiring competitive advantage is analyzed. The classification of the network capability and its measure are also completed; (4) some important factors which have influence on the level of network capability are proposed exploringly, and some advices for the firm in the innovation network to improve their performance of organizational learning and innovation are given; (5) combining with the RBV, social network theory, the knowledge transfer theory and technological innovation theory, the way that network capability influences the innovation performance is finally revealed.The dissertation is divided to six sub-researchs. In the first sub-research, the theory of RBV in the context of network is built, which mainly includes the definition of network resource, the source of network rents and its distribution, the concept of network capability, and competitive advantage of the networked firm. In the second sub-research, based on the theoretical analysis and statistical analysis, network capability is classified, and the meaning of network capability is clarified. A measurement method and scale of network capability is also put forward in this sub-research. In the third sub-research, based on the literature review and the normative analysis, some influential factors that would effect on the different network capability in organizations are identified. In the fourth sub-research, through multi-case analysis, the mechanism through which that network capability influence the innovation performance is found. In the fifth sub-research, firstly, a conceptual model that network capability influences the innovation performance is proposed; then, this model is validated by using the methods of multiple regression and structural equation model. The moderator effect of the type of network and the mediator effect of knowledge transfer are the key points in this sub-research. At last, the shortcomings and the future direction of this dissertation are described.更多还原