A Configurational Analysis of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ Radical Innovations: The Perspective of Dynamic Capabilities

Frontiers in Psychology

Zhiwen Guo¹  Weijing Chen¹  Lumeng Wang²  Shudi Liao³  Shuangshuang Tang⁴ 

[1] Business School, Hubei University, Wuhan, China;College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China;Hubei Center for Studies of Human Capital Development Strategy and Policy, Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Science of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China;School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;

关键词: environmental turbulence;    absorptive capacity;    SMEs;    radical innovation;    fsQCA;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.784738

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Adopting a configurational perspective, this study explored the pathways for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve high levels of radical innovation. On the basis of dynamic capabilities theory, six causal conditions for radical innovation were identified at both external and internal levels—that is, environmental turbulence (i.e., technological and market turbulence) and absorptive capacity (i.e., knowledge base, explorative, transformative, and exploitative learning processes). The results of a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) of 82 Chinese SMEs identified four solutions for high radical innovation. The six causal conditions interacted interdependently and different combinations of these conditions were equally effective pathways for SMEs to achieve radical innovation. Hence, SMEs could generate radical innovation through flexibly allocating resources and capabilities based on the environmental circumstances. By using the fsQCA method, this study contributes to the related literature with an investigation of the complex causal relationship between environmental turbulence, absorptive capacity, and SMEs’ radical innovation. The results resolve some prior contradictory findings and provide new insights for future research. Other theoretical contributions, practical implications, and directions for future research are also discussed.

【 授权许可】

Unknown