Colin C.J. Cheng

Breakthrough innovation: the roles of dynamic innovation capabilities and open innovation activities

Purpose – This study aims to examine the roles of dynamic innovation capabilities and open innovation activities in breakthrough innovation. Drawing from the absorptive capacity perspective, organizational inertia theory, and open innovation, the authors seek to argue that dynamic innovation capabilities have a curvilinear effect on breakthrough innovation that is moderated by open innovation activities.Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey was sent to the top 1,000 firms in Taiwan, the target respondents being senior managers with experience in developing at least three successful breakthrough innovations in the past five years. A total of 218 usable questionnaires were collected, resulting in a respondent rate of 22.9 percent.Findings – The findings support the argument that dynamic innovation capabilities have an inverted U‐shape relationship with breakthrough innovation. Meanwhile, open innovation activities strengthen the positive effects of dynamic innovation capabilities on breakthrough innov...

Market‐creating service innovation: verification and its associations with new service development and customer involvement

Purpose – The present study aims to develop a measure of the market‐creating service innovation (MCSI) proposed by Berry et al., verify the typology, identify the relationship between MCSI and each new service development (NSD) stage, and assess the degree to which the role of customers involved in each NSD stage contributes to each type of MCSI.Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey was sent to service companies in Taiwan, the target respondents being senior managers with experience in developing successful new services in the past three years. A total of 179 usable questionnaires were collected, resulting in a respondent rate of 21.2 per cent. The responses covered a wide range of service industries.Findings – The present study confirms that the four MCSIs proposed by Berry et al. do indeed exist in practice. The degree of association between each NSD stage and each type of MCSI varies according to MCSI type. The statistical weights for customers involved in each type of MCSI are also different.Res...

The inconvenient truth of the relationship between open innovation activities and innovation performance

Purpose – Despite extensive published research into the relationship between open innovation (OI) activities and performance, the nature and direction of the relationship remain inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship as to how firms’ inbound and outbound OI activities, as well as their interaction influence incremental and radical innovation performance. The authors also consider the potentially mediating roles of knowledge learning and organizational capabilities in such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach – To investigate this relationship, data were collected from a cross-industry survey of 304 leading Taiwanese-based firms. Three-stage least square analysis was employed to test the model. Findings – Analyses reveal that knowledge learning and organizational capabilities mediate the OI activities-innovation performance relationship. In addition, a firm focussing on inbound activities enhances its radical innovation performance, but hinders its incremental inn...

Critical success factors of new product development in Taiwan's electronics industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore critical success factors of new product development in Taiwans electronics industry which uses the approach of re‐innovation.Design/methodology/approach – Focus group research was conducted. In total 71 participants from Taiwans electronics industry were allocated into eight different groups ranging from minimum eight to maximum ten participants in a group.Findings – Suggested critical success factors of re‐innovation include time reduction in development process, cost reduction in product manufacture, products with high levels of customization, relative advantage, or added value, efficiently internal coordination and external cooperation, appropriate product introduction timing, and less aggressive competitors responses.Research limitations/implications – A main limitation of this study is that the field data were all from Taiwanese‐based companies in certain industries. Generalization could be increased by collecting data from other countries and indus...

The effects of market orientation on new service performance: the mediating role of innovation

The empirical results of the relationship between market orientation and new service performance are mixed, implying that this relationship is more complicated than expected. To respond to this complication, this study takes a component-wise approach to investigate how three market orientation components contribute to new service performance by way of two service innovations and also examine how three environmental factors interact with each market orientation component to affect service innovation. Based on a survey of 235 senior managers using structural equation modelling, the results indicate that customer orientation has a positive relationship with incremental service innovation, while competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination are significantly associated with radical service innovation, and all of which positively lead to two types of new service performances. In addition, both market and technological turbulence significantly and positively moderate the relationship between customer and competitor orientations and service innovation.

Dynamic service innovation capability, radical service innovation and open business models

While researchers agree that dynamic capabilities offer firms the skills and abilities to deploy and utilise various resources, the relationship between dynamic service innovation capability and radical service innovation remains unclear. With the influence of an open business model, the relationship becomes more complicated. The results analyses of data provided by 209 senior managers from their respective firms, indicates that dynamic service innovation capability has an inverted U-shaped relationship with radical service innovation. In addition, a substantially more open business model strengthens the positive effects of dynamic service innovation capability on radical service innovation.

SERVICE BUSINESS MODEL AND SERVICE INNOVATIVENESS

Service innovativeness has been hailed as a key success factor in being able to differentiate a new service from its competing offerings. In spite of a number of literatures suggesting the impact that a service business model can have on service innovativeness, no comprehensive and empirical study has examined the relationship between the distinctive design themes of a service business model and service innovativeness. This paper fills the research gap by conducting a series of pilot tests and then the subsequent questionnaire survey on top service firms in Taiwan. Results based on 211 responding service firms indicate that the novelty-centred business model has a U-shaped effect on service innovativeness, while the efficiency-centred business model has an inverted U-shaped effect on service innovativeness. Theoretical and managerial implications of these key findings are discussed.

Preconditions for Product Re-innovation in Taiwan: Evidence from High-Technology Firms

The phenomenon of product re-innovation has often characterized Taiwanese high-technology firms over the last decade. However, the literature reflects surprisingly little effort to understand their preconditions. Based on extant knowledge and 68 field interviews with managers in diverse departments and firms of high-technology industries in Taiwan in mid-2006, the authors provide a foundation for future research by developing research propositions that relate to preconditions for product re-innovation. Managerial and research implications are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.

How to Enhance New Product Creativity in the Online Brand Community

Abstract An online brand community (OBC) is one of the most important sources of creativity in modern times. While there is substantial evidence concerning both OBCs and creativity, there remains little understanding of how new product creativity is enhanced in an OBC. The results of a survey of 208 paired usable questionnaires (from each fir m’s NPD executive and OBC member), reveal that before interacting with creativity capabilities, a creative climate of OBCs can only impact meaningfulness of new product creativity. However, the interaction of a creative climate of OBCs and creativity capabilities has direct impact on both novelty and meaningfulness of new product creativity. Our findings suggest that firms’ creativity capabilities can act as an enhancer of the creative climate of OBCs.

Examining the link between service modularity and firm performance: A capability perspective

Purpose While service scholars have generally supported the idea that service modularity enhances firm performance, the literature offers very little evidence of the actual process through which service modularity continuously contributes to firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the link from a capability perspective: service modularity capabilities-service modularity-new service advantage-firm performance, as well as the moderating role of radical innovation capability in the effect of service modularity on new service advantage. Design/methodology/approach To examine this link, data were collected from a cross-industry survey of 231 leading service firms. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical moderated regression analyses were employed to test the model. Findings Analyses reveal that new service advantage mediates the service modularity-firm performance relationship. Moreover, service modularity capabilities act in an important antecedent role to configure service modularity. Among the findings, it is worth emphasizing that radical innovation capability not only strengthens the positive effect of, but also alleviates the negative effect of, service modularity on new service advantage. Originality/value This study provides a more complete understanding of how service modularity enhances firm performance by discovering the hidden role of new service advantage that bridges service modularity and firm performance, clarifying the role of service modularity capabilities in configuring service modularity, and confirming the important role of radical innovation capability in sustaining the effectiveness of service modularity.