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Reviewing the Field of External Knowledge Search for Innovation: Theoretical Underpinnings and Future (Re‐)search Directions
Author(s) -
Ehls Daniel,
Polier Sara,
Herstatt Cornelius
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of product innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1540-5885
pISSN - 0737-6782
DOI - 10.1111/jpim.12549
Subject(s) - conceptualization , field (mathematics) , key (lock) , computer science , knowledge management , data science , pluralism (philosophy) , co citation , citation , complement (music) , management science , sociology , engineering ethics , epistemology , world wide web , artificial intelligence , engineering , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , computer security , complementation , gene , phenotype , mathematics , pure mathematics
The field of external knowledge search for innovation has a long tradition and has inspired several schools of thought resulting in a rich and burgeoning body of research. However, the field suffers from two key limitations. First, the pluralism of research across multiple disciplines impedes our attention to the field as a whole, including its intellectual structure and core ideas. Second, recent developments in the business environment and key new ideas in the field complement taken‐for‐granted approaches and provide new opportunities for knowledge search. Based on a systematic co‐citation analysis, we provide a reflective review of the literature and make several contributions. We integrate existing research across disciplines and offer a synthesis of a fragmented research landscape to present a global view of the field. Moreover, we propose a novel external search concept and introduce the idea of “decoupled search.” Leveraging our synthesis and conceptualization further, we recommend future research directions for the entire field of external knowledge search for innovation.