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Changes in firm knowledge couplings and firm innovation performance: The moderating role of technological complexity
Author(s) -
Yayavaram Sai,
Chen WeiRu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
strategic management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 11.035
H-Index - 286
eISSN - 1097-0266
pISSN - 0143-2095
DOI - 10.1002/smj.2218
Subject(s) - interdependence , affect (linguistics) , knowledge management , domain (mathematical analysis) , business , domain knowledge , industrial organization , coupling (piping) , computer science , microeconomics , economics , psychology , mathematics , sociology , engineering , mathematical analysis , social science , communication , mechanical engineering
We investigate the effect of changes in a firm's knowledge couplings on its innovation performance. We develop arguments to explain how changes in couplings among existing knowledge domains and those between new and existing knowledge domains affect the generation of valuable inventions. We also examine how observed domain complexity, an indicator of the inherent interdependencies among knowledge domains, moderates the effects of changes in a firm's knowledge couplings on innovation performance. Our results suggest that a change in couplings among existing knowledge domains hurts innovation outcomes, but not when the degree of domain complexity is high, whereas coupling new and existing knowledge domains leads to improved outcomes, but not when the degree of domain complexity is high . Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.