The interaction between internal R & D and different types of external knowledge sourcing: an empirical study of C hinese innovative firms

Abstract

This paper investigates to what extent internalR&Defforts and different types of external knowledge sources jointly affect innovation performance of firms in emerging economies. Based on a survey about external knowledge sourcing activities ofChinese innovative firms, we categorize external knowledge sources into four groups: science‐based partners; horizontal connections; value chain partners, and technology service providers. We find that both internalR&Dactivities and external knowledge sourcing have a positive effect on firms' innovation performance. Strong internalR&Dcapabilities also increase the effect of sourcing from value chain partners and horizontal connections, but we do not find support for complementarity between internalR&Dand collaborations with universities and research labs. These findings jointly suggest that the mixture of different types of external knowledge partners in combination with internalR&Dcapabilities is crucial in understanding the role of open innovation in emerging economies.

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