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| Pattern Matching and Selection of How Boundary-Spanning Search Improve Innovation Performance Enabled by Digitalization and Intellectualization:The Perspective of Knowledge Governance Mechanism |
| Lyu Rongjie1,Song Zhiye1,Zhang Yiming1,Hao Lixiao2 |
| (1. School of Economics and Management,Hebei University of Technology,Tianjin 300401,China; 2. School of Economics and Management ,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China) |
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Abstract With the vigorous development of digital intelligent technologies, more and more enterprises realize the importance of boundary-spanning search for external heterogeneous knowledge to improve innovation ability. Therefore both the academic and industry circles are concerned about how to use digital intelligence technologies to carry out boundary-spanning search to improve firm innovation performance. The existing literature believes that boundary-spanning search has an impact on innovation performance, but there is still a lack of sufficient theoretical explanations for the specific process of enterprises improving innovation performance through boundary-spanning search enabled by digitalization and intellectualization.#br#In view of this, this paper focuses on the core issue of "how boundary-spanning search can improve firm innovation performance enabled by digitalization and intellectualization ".From the perspective of knowledge governance mechanism, this paper selects 4 typical Chinese enterprises to conduct multi-case comparison research, and an in-depth analysis of the dynamic process of how boundary-spanning search can improve firm innovation performance enabled by digitalization and intellectualization. It has important theoretical and practical significance for enriching the theoretical system of boundary-spanning search and knowledge governance, and guiding the innovation practice of Chinese enterprises.〖HJ*2/7〗#br#The research conclusions of this paper are as follows. Firstly, in the context of digital intelligence, enterprises should fully consider the leading role of boundary-spanning search patterns and the main challenges they face.The study finds that in the process of boundary-spanning search enabled by digitalization and intellectualization, there are two boundary-spanning search patterns: network topology pattern and panoramic interaction pattern, as well as two process risks: technology endogenous risk and knowledge-based risk. Secondly, the formal knowledge governance and informal knowledge governance in the knowledge governance mechanism can effectively prevent the process risks expanded by the large-scale application of digital intelligence technology, so as to effectively transform digital-intelligence boundary-spanning search into innovation performance. Therefore, it is necessary for enterprises to verify different degrees of formal knowledge governance and informal knowledge governance in the dynamic process of transforming digital-intelligence boundary-spanning search into innovation performance. Thirdly, with the enablement of digitalization and intellectualization, enterprises can creatively match high topology-low interaction, high topology-high interaction, and low topology-high interaction boundary-spanning search patterns based on their own knowledge governance mechanisms to improve innovation performance. Specifically, when the degree of formal knowledge governance is high, the enterprises should choose the high topology-low interaction boundary-spanning search pattern; when the informal knowledge governance degree is high, the enterprises should choose the low topology-high interaction boundary-spanning search pattern; when both the degree of formal knowledge governance and informal knowledge governance are high, the enterprises are suggested to adopt a high topology-high interaction boundary-spanning search pattern, and achieve a balance between formal and informal knowledge governance by coordinating the degree of coupling between the network topology pattern and panoramic interaction pattern. At the same time, the purpose of improving the innovation performance of enterprises can be achieved.#br#The theoretical contributions and innovations of this study lie in three aspects. Firstly, it identifies the existing boundary-spanning search patterns and process risks in firm innovation performance improvement by boundary-spanning search enabled by digitalization and intellectualization, and provides a new research context for relevant research on boundary-spanning search. To a certain extent, it extends and expands the contextualized research of organizational search theory. Secondly, this study explores the key role played by digital intelligence technology by deconstructing the process of boundary-spanning search that affects innovation performance. From the perspective of process view, it provides new insights into the process of boundary-spanning search affecting innovation performance. Thirdly, different from the existing literature that emphasizes the key role of knowledge governance mechanism in promoting knowledge activities and preventing organizational risks, this study explores the important role of knowledge governance mechanism in the process of how boundary-spanning search can improve firm innovation performance enabled by digitalization and intellectualization. In addition to the research on the above two elements, it further finds that under the background of different degrees of formal knowledge governance and informal knowledge governance, different boundary-spanning search patterns have differentiated characteristics in the process of influencing corporate innovation, which extends the explanatory boundary of knowledge governance theory, and provides a new theoretical perspective for subsequent research on the relationship between boundary-spanning search and firm innovation performance.#br#
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Received: 26 May 2022
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