The mediating roles of governance mechanisms and knowledge transfer on the relationship between specific investments and cooperative innovation performance

ABSTRACT This study seeks to understand the influence of specific investments (SIs) to cooperative innovation performance (CIP) by examining the mediating roles of knowledge transfer (KT) and governance mechanisms (GMs), including formal contracts (FCs) and relational trust (RT). A sample of 238 projects is used to test the proposed model through structural equation modelling. The results show SIs act indirectly through RT to influence CIP. KT plays a mediating role between the two GMs and CIP. Moreover, the results suggest that the mediating effect of KT between FCs and performance is full; however its effect between RT and performance is only partial, and the mediating effect of RT between SIs and performance is also partial.

[1]  Audhesh K. Paswan,et al.  Knowledge management and franchise systems , 2009 .

[2]  F. Selnes,et al.  Promoting Relationship Learning , 2003 .

[3]  M. Kotabe,et al.  Gaining from vertical partnerships : Knowledge transfer, relationship duration and supplier performance improvement in the U.S. and Japanese automotive industries , 2003 .

[4]  James Richardson.  Beyond Partnership: Strategies for Innovation and Lean Supply , 1994 .

[5]  J. Scott Armstrong,et al.  Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. , 1977 .

[6]  Xu Jiang,et al.  Managing knowledge leakage in strategic alliances: The effects of trust and formal contracts , 2013 .

[7]  F. Bookstein,et al.  Two Structural Equation Models: LISREL and PLS Applied to Consumer Exit-Voice Theory: , 1982 .

[8]  R. Grant,et al.  A Knowledge Accessing Theory of Strategic Alliances , 2004 .

[9]  Matthew E. Sarkees.  Understanding the links between technological opportunism, marketing emphasis and firm performance: Implications for B2B , 2011 .

[10]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 1998 .

[11]  Ajai S. Gaur,et al.  Environmental and Firm Level Influences on Inter‐Organizational Trust and SME Performance , 2011 .

[12]  Jahyun Goo,et al.  Facilitating relational governance through service level agreements in IT outsourcing: An application of the commitment-trust theory , 2008, Decis. Support Syst..

[13]  P. Chathoth,et al.  Intern newcomers’ global self-esteem, overall job satisfaction, and choice intention: Person-organization fit as a mediator , 2011 .

[14]  Haiyang Li,et al.  When Does Trust Matter? Antecedents and Contingent Effects of Supervisee Trust on Performance in Selling New Products in China and the United States , 2002 .

[15]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital and Value Creation: The Role of Intrafirm Networks , 1998 .

[16]  M. Carree,et al.  Heterogeneity in R&D cooperation strategies , 2004 .

[17]  Marina du Plessis,et al.  The role of knowledge management in innovation , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[18]  Balaji R. Koka,et al.  The Reification of Absorptive Capacity: A Critical Review and Rejuvenation of the Construct , 2006 .

[19]  Antonio K.W. Lau,et al.  Regional innovation system, absorptive capacity and innovation performance: An empirical study , 2015 .

[20]  Xu Jiang,et al.  How does trust affect alliance performance? The mediating role of resource sharing , 2015 .

[21]  Fr¬¥ed¬¥erique Sachwald,et al.  Co-operative R&D: why and with whom?: An integrated framework of analysis , 2003 .

[22]  John Bessant,et al.  Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market, and Organizational Change, 2nd Edition , 2001 .

[23]  G. Ioannou,et al.  Absorptive capacity, innovation, and financial performance , 2011 .

[24]  Justin J. P. Jansen,et al.  Inter- and Intra-Organizational Knowledge Transfer: A Meta-Analytic Review and Assessment of its Antecedents and Consequences , 2008 .

[25]  Francisco Lima,et al.  Cooperation in innovation activities: The importance of partners , 2010 .

[26]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[27]  Ajai S. Gaur,et al.  External and internal influences on R&D alliance formation: evidence from German SMEs , 2013 .

[28]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[29]  A. Hausman,et al.  Innovativeness Among Small Businesses: Theory and Propositions for Future Research , 2005 .

[30]  Ling Jiang,et al.  When do formal control and trust matter? A context-based analysis of the effects on marketing channel relationships in China , 2011 .

[31]  Min Zhang,et al.  The impact of trust and contract on innovation performance: The moderating role of environmental uncertainty , 2011 .

[32]  Yu‐Shan Chen,et al.  The positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on innovation performance and competitive advantage in industrial markets , 2009 .

[33]  Yannis Caloghirou,et al.  Internal capabilities and external knowledge sources: complements or substitutes for innovative performance? , 2004 .

[34]  Kenneth S. Law,et al.  Effectiveness of Chinese Teams: The Role of Conflict Types and Conflict Management Approaches , 2006, Management and Organization Review.

[35]  Xiaoling Wang,et al.  The effects of a trust mechanism on a dynamic supply chain network , 2014, Expert Syst. Appl..

[36]  Stephen F. Knack,et al.  Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation , 1997 .

[37]  Todd R. Zenger,et al.  Do Formal Contracts and Relational Governance Function as Substitutes or Complements , 2002 .

[38]  P. Ritala,et al.  Knowledge sharing, knowledge leaking and relative innovation performance: An empirical study , 2015 .

[39]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[40]  Kevin Zheng Zhou,et al.  Governing interfirm knowledge transfer in the Chinese market: The interplay of formal and informal mechanisms , 2012 .

[41]  Jan B. Heide.  Interorganizational Governance in Marketing Channels , 1994 .

[42]  P. Matthyssens,et al.  The impact of buyer–supplier relationships on supplier innovativeness: An empirical study in cross-border supply networks , 2013 .

[43]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  An Examination of the Nature of Trust in Buyer–Seller Relationships: , 1997 .

[44]  Joseph T. Mahoney,et al.  Why firms make unilateral investments specific to other firms: the case of OEM suppliers , 2009 .

[45]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[46]  Yadong Luo,et al.  Contract, cooperation, and performance in international joint ventures , 2002 .

[47]  T. Das,et al.  Between Trust and Control: Developing Confidence in Partner Cooperation in Alliances , 1998 .

[48]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[49]  C. Yu,et al.  Formal governance mechanisms, relational governance mechanisms, and transaction-specific investments in supplier–manufacturer relationships , 2006 .

[50]  Ik-Whan G. Kwon,et al.  Matter over mind: When specific asset investment affects calculative trust in supply chain partnership , 2006 .

[51]  Guisheng Wu,et al.  What Are the Effective Strategic Orientations for New Product Success under Different Environments? An Empirical Study of Chinese Businesses* , 2012 .

[52]  Stephan M. Wagner,et al.  Supplier relationship-specific investments and the role of safeguards for supplier innovation sharing , 2014 .

[53]  Kevin Zheng Zhou,et al.  Relational ties or customized contracts? An examination of alternative governance choices in China , 2008 .

[54]  Geoffrey Hagelaar,et al.  The determinants of relational governance and performance: How to manage business relationships? , 2003 .

[55]  R. Narasimhan,et al.  Managing beyond the factory walls: Effects of four types of strategic integration on manufacturing plant performance , 2007 .

[56]  A. Groen,et al.  Open Innovation in Practice: Goal Complementarity and Closed NPD Networks to Explain Differences in Innovation Performance for SMEs in the Medical Devices Sector , 2012 .

[57]  R. Dahlstrom,et al.  An Empirical Investigation of Ex Post Transaction Costs in Franchised Distribution Channels , 1999 .

[58]  B. Kedia,et al.  Understanding offshoring: A research framework based on disintegration, location and externalization advantages , 2009 .

[59]  Chinho Lin,et al.  The alliance innovation performance of R&D alliances—the absorptive capacity perspective , 2012 .

[60]  J. Barney,et al.  Trustworthiness as a Source of Competitive Advantage , 1994 .

[61]  D. Iacobucci,et al.  A Meditation on Mediation: Evidence that Structural Equations Models Perform Better than Regressions , 2007 .

[62]  Y. Chou.  Three simple models of social capital and economic growth , 2006 .

[63]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis , 1972 .

[64]  Kuen-Hung Tsai,et al.  Collaborative networks and product innovation performance: Toward a contingency perspective , 2009 .

[65]  Dong-Gil Ko,et al.  The mediating role of knowledge transfer and the effects of client-consultant mutual trust on the performance of enterprise implementation projects , 2014, Inf. Manag..

[66]  R. Handfield,et al.  Knowledge Sharing in Interorganizational Product Development Teams: The Effect of Formal and Informal Socialization Mechanisms* , 2009 .

[67]  K. Zhou,et al.  Relational mechanisms, formal contracts, and local knowledge acquisition by international subsidiaries , 2009 .

[68]  Xu Jiang,et al.  An empirical investigation of knowledge management and innovative performance: The case of alliances , 2009 .

[69]  M. Sobel.  Direct and Indirect Effects in Linear Structural Equation Models , 1987 .

[70]  S. Lui,et al.  Asset specificity roles in interfirm cooperation: Reducing opportunistic behavior or increasing cooperative behavior? ☆ , 2009 .

[71]  Rachelle C. Sampson.  R&D Alliances and Firm Performance: The Impact of Technological Diversity and Alliance Organization on Innovation , 2007 .

[72]  Jan B. Heide,et al.  Specific Investments in Marketing Relationships: Expropriation and Bonding Effects , 2003 .

[73]  B. Looy,et al.  Interorganizational collaboration and innovation: Toward a portfolio approach , 2005 .

[74]  Michael Jay Polonsky,et al.  Inter-firm learning and knowledge-sharing in multinational networks: An outsourced organization's perspective , 2014 .