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How does supply chain collaboration improve innovation performance of SMEs? The roles of absorptive capacity and business environment
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

How does supply chain collaboration improve innovation performance of SMEs? The roles of absorptive capacity and business environment

Bin Sang, Rafidah Md Noor, Ezlika Mohd Ghazali and Nasrin Aghamohammadi
Journal of innovation & knowledge, Vol.9(4), 100607
2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2024.100607
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Published1.22 MBDownloadView
CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open Access

Abstract

Absorptive capacity Customer participation Innovation performance Supplier participation
There is increasing awareness that customers and suppliers serve as key external information sources for the innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, existing research on the influence of customer participation (CP) and supplier participation (SP) remains inconsistent. This study addresses this gap by investigating how CP and SP affect different types of innovation performance of SMEs in China. Furthermore, by addressing the gap regarding the unclear mechanisms of CP and SP in SMEs’ innovation performance, this study explores the mediating role of a firm's absorptive capacity on innovation performance and the conditions under which absorptive capacity will be more effective. Based on a sample of 1861 SMEs in China, the findings highlight that CP positively impacts product innovation performance, with absorptive capacity acting as a partial mediator. Additionally, both CP and SP influence process innovation performance directly or through absorptive capacity. Meanwhile, the business environment moderates the effect of absorptive capacity on product innovation performance. These findings contribute to the theory of open innovation and offer valuable insights for SME managers, entrepreneurs, and scholars in enhancing innovation outcomes.

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