计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

Strategy and Structure

Microfoundations have received increased attention in strategy and organization theory over the past decade. In this paper, we take stock of the microfoundations movement, its origins and history, and disparate forms. We briefly touch on similar micro movements in disciplines such as economics and sociology. However, our particular focus is on the unique features of the microfoundations movement in macro management. While the microfoundations movement in macro management does seek to link with more micro disciplines such as psychology and organizational behavior, it also features a unique set of questions, assumptions, theoretical mechanisms, and independent/dependent variables that complement the focus in the micro disciplines. We also discuss the disparate criticisms of the microfoundations literature and the challenges the movement faces, such as defining distinct theoretical and empirical programs for microfoundational research. The overall purpose of this manuscript is to clearly delineate the promise and uniqueness of microfoundations research in macro management, to discuss how the movement originated and where it is going, and to offer rich opportunities for future work.

The Microfoundations Movement in Strategy and Organization Theory

Much of the prior research on interorganizational learning has focused on the role of absorptive capacity, a firm's ability to value, assimilate, and utilize new external knowledge. However, this definition of the construct suggests that a firm has an equal capacity to learn from all other organizations. We reconceptualize the firm-level construct absorptive capacity as a learning dyad-level construct, relative absorptive capacity. One firm's ability to learn from another firm is argued to depend on the similarity of both firms' (1) knowledge bases, (2) organizational structures and compensation policies, and (3) dominant logics. We then test the model using a sample of pharmaceutical–biotechnology R&D alliances. As predicted, the similarity of the partners' basic knowledge, lower management formalization, research centralization, compensation practices, and research communities were positively related to interorganizational learning. The relative absorptive capacity measures are also shown to have greater explanatory power than the established measure of absorptive capacity, R&D spending. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning

The view of innovation as a process of searching and recombining existing knowledge elements has been adopted in several industries. The innovation management literature has recognized the fundamental role that search and recombination play in innovation development. However, the relevant research has provided complex, fragmented and mixed results. The authors aim to identify areas of convergence and provide directions for future research by collecting empirical evidence regarding how firms conduct the search and recombination process. They conducted a systematic literature review of 87 empirical articles in the innovation management field. The review reveals differences among the solutions adopted both within and across organizational boundaries. Specifically, it shows that the variety and diversity of knowledge elements are critical in creating breakthrough innovations. Therefore, this paper discusses how to provide access to a variety of knowledge elements. It also highlights other fundamental questions calling for further investigation, such as how scientific knowledge elements are successfully recombined and how recombination and search dynamics occur in small and medium-sized firms. The review concludes by summarizing the current state of affairs and suggests promising directions for future investigation.

Search and Recombination Process to Innovate: A Review of the Empirical Evidence and a Research Agenda

Research summary: When faced with a new technological paradigm, incumbent firms can opt for internal development and/or external sourcing to obtain the necessary new knowledge. We explain how the effectiveness of external knowledge sourcing depends on the properties of internal knowledge production. We apply a social network lens to delineate interpersonal, intra-firm knowledge networks and capture the emergence of two important firm-level properties: the incumbent's internal potential for knowledge recombination and the level of knowledge coordination costs. We rely on firm-level internal knowledge networks to dynamically track the emergence of these properties across 106 global pharmaceutical companies over a 25-year time period. We find that a firm's success in developing knowledge in a new technological paradigm using external knowledge sourcing is contingent on these internal knowledge properties.

Managerial summary: Incumbent firms in high-tech industries often face competence-destroying technological change. In their effort to adapt and develop new knowledge in a novel paradigm, incumbent firms have several corporate strategy options available to them: internal knowledge development and a wide array of external knowledge sourcing strategies, including alliances and acquisitions. In this study, we make an effort to address a critical question: How effective is external knowledge sourcing under different internal knowledge generation regimes? We find that external sourcing strategies are less effective when firms can already internally generate new knowledge or if they have high internal coordination costs. Therefore, when considering external sourcing, managers must carefully weigh the benefits of it vis-a-vis its commensurate costs as the benefits of external sourcing may be overstated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Organizing for knowledge generation: internal knowledge networks and the contingent effect of external knowledge sourcing

https://www.scheller.gatech.edu/directory/faculty/rothaermel/pubs/structural_microfoundations.pdf

Structural Microfoundations of Innovation: The Role of Relational Stars

https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/11918822/LABIB_2018_cright_EFA_Learning_from_rare_events_An_analysis_of_ValuJet_Flight_592_and_Swissair_Flight_SR_111_crashes.pdf

Learning from rare events: an analysis of ValuJet Flight 592 and Swissair Flight SR 111 crashes

Applying social network theory, we attempt to uncover the role of individuals as drivers of organizational invention. Conceptualizing invention as a process of knowledge search and recombination, we go beyond the focus on productive individuals and emphasize the importance of individual relational capacities to effectively implement the process of invention. We rely on intraorganizational knowledge networks emerging through individual collaboration to identify actors who using their extreme collaboration behavior can positively influence the quality of their organization?s inventive output. We develop a taxonomy of three types of such relational stars: integrators, connectors, and isolates. We test our ideas in a sample of 106 pharmaceutical firms from 1974 to 1998. Our results suggest that all three individual role-sets have positive effects on their organization?s inventive quality and that the positive effects are much more pronounced for quality than quantity of inventive output. Connectors are the strongest drivers of quality followed by integrators and isolates. In addition, we show that relational stars compensate for each other and that the most effective internal configuration for inventive quality includes many integrators combined with many connectors and few isolates.

/pdf/structural-microfoundations-of-innovation-relational-stars-ckghp8my3x.pdf

Structural Microfoundations of Innovation: Relational Stars and Quality of Inventive Output

/pdf/essays-on-the-micro-foundations-of-the-knowledge-based-view-3h6p7a9z2t.pdf

Konstantinos Grigoriou

Papers

Organizing for knowledge generation: internal knowledge networks and the contingent effect of external knowledge sourcing

Structural Microfoundations of Innovation: The Role of Relational Stars

Learning from rare events: an analysis of ValuJet Flight 592 and Swissair Flight SR 111 crashes

Structural Microfoundations of Innovation: Relational Stars and Quality of Inventive Output

Essays on the Micro-Foundations of the Knowledge-Based View: Human Capital, Knowledge Networks and Innovation Strategy