International Journal of Innovation Science

Aldabbas, Hazem; Pinnington, Ashly; Lahrech, Abdelmounaim

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-10-2019-0095

This study aims to investigate the relationship between university–industry collaboration (U-I-C) in research and development (R&D) and quality management and explore how the relationship is mediated by innovation.Design/methodology/approachBased on panel data consisting of 109 countries spanning over a five year period (2013-2017) this study investigates, through structural equation modelling, how this relationship is mediated by innovation.FindingsThe main finding is that there are positive significant direct effects between U-I-C and innovation and between innovation and international organization for standardization (ISO) 9001. Furthermore, the strength and significance of these relations are highly affected by the classification of income in these countries, which ranges from high and upper-middle to lower-middle categories. This paper concludes that countries in the high-income category have higher achievement in U-I-C in R&D, innovation and ISO 9001 when compared to the upper and lower-middle-income categories.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates in the empirical study the value of collaboration in R&D between government, industry and academia, as it can encourage scientific research and contribute to quality management and innovation. This research is one of the very few studies to assess the country’s income classification effect on U-I-C in R&D, innovation and ISO 9001. It is recommended that more research is conducted on how countries not ranked in the high-income category could benefit from U-I-C in R&D to enhance innovation and quality management.

Mungila Hillemane, Bala Subrahmanya

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-03-2020-0020

The purpose of this study is to explore how do the characteristics of technology business incubators (TBIs), their chief executive officers, selection process and incubation process influence their research and development (R&D) contributions to the national economy.Design/methodology/approachThese research questions are probed based on primary data gathered from 65 TBIs located in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, 3 of the leading start-up hubs of India comprising 9 accelerators, 31 incubators and 25 co-working spaces. Stepwise (backward elimination) regression method has been applied for six regression models for the analysis of research objectives.FindingsIncubators more than accelerators and co-working spaces have incurred R&D investments for infrastructure development and hired exclusive R&D personnel. External networks and size of incubators in terms of number of incubatees are decisive for R&D investments and new products/services. TBIs accounted for a negligible share of patents relative to the number of new products/services generated in these TBIs, thereby indicating “low level of novelty/innovativeness” of new products/services. However, both new products/services and patent applications are crucial for revenue generation, implying that the generated new products/services are able to penetrate the market and patent application submission can act as a “signal” to the market.Research limitations/implicationsThe overall research findings portend that there is scope and potential for an increasing R&D contribution to emerge from the TBIs along with their incubated start-ups, to supplement the national R&D efforts in India in the future. The emphasis, of course, has to be more on strengthening the innovation ecosystem through TBIs by means of industry–institute partnerships.Practical implicationsThis study’s practical implications refer to the need to promote TBIs as a means of strengthening regional innovation systems in developing economies.Social implicationsTBIs can be a means of nurturing tech start-ups for generating employment and income in regional economies.Originality/valueThis is a first of its kind study with reference to an emerging economy exploring to understand the extent of R&D contributions emerging from TBIs, which have been promoted on an increasing scale across the country as a means of nurturing technology start-ups.

Al-Sayed, Rafif; Yang, Jianhua

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-04-2020-0040

This paper aims at studying the concept of innovation ecosystems and investigating the factors affecting them based on their interrelationships with respect to different innovation archetypes.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is based on using multivariate statistical analysis of the inter-correlations among a number of variables which led to extracting a reduced set of new significant factors that affect China’s innovation ecosystem.FindingsThe results showed that innovation archetypes differ significantly with respect to the majority of the new factors.Practical implicationsThrough identifying these challenges, decision-makers can develop a better understanding of the variables affecting each archetype of innovation and act accordingly.Originality/valueThe study is the first to fill the gap of addressing a large number of variables affecting innovation and analyzing their interrelationships.

Mahdad, Maral; Minh, Thai Thi; Bogers, Marcel L.A.M.; Piccaluga, Andrea

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-10-2019-0096

There is little known about investigating the importance of all proximity dimensions simultaneously as a result of geographical proximity on university-industry collaborative innovation. This paper aims to answer the question of how geographically proximate university and industry influence cognitive, social, organizational, institutional and cultural proximity within university-industry joint laboratories and finally, what is the outcome of these interplays on collaborative innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an exploratory multiple-case study approach. The results are derived from 53 in-depth, semistructured interviews with laboratory directors and representatives from both the company and the university within 8 joint laboratories of Telecom Italia (TIM). The data collection was carried out in 2014 and 2015. The analysis follows a multi-grounded theory approach and relies on a mix of deductive and inductive reasoning with the final goal of theoretical elaboration.FindingsThis study finds the role of social and cultural proximity at the individual level as a result of geographical proximity as an enabler of collaborative innovation by triggering mutual learning, trust formation and frequent interactions. Cognitive proximity at the interface level could systematically influence collaborative innovation, while organizational and institutional proximity has marginal roles in facilitating collaborative innovation. The qualitative analysis offers a conceptual framework for proximity dimensions and collaborative innovation within university-industry joint laboratories.Practical implicationsThe framework not only advances state-of-the-art university-industry collaboration and proximity dimension but also offers guidance for managers in designing collaborative innovation settings between university and industry.Originality/valueWith this study, the paper advances the understanding beyond solely the relationship between proximity and collaboration and shed light on the interplay between geographical proximity and other proximity dimensions in this context, which has received limited scholarly attention.

Bashir, Makhmoor; Naqshbandi, M. Muzamil; Farooq, Rayees

2020 International Journal of Innovation Science

doi: 10.1108/ijis-06-2020-0081

The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyze the literature on business model innovation by identifying its triggers, enablers, barriers, dimensions, outcomes and highlight avenues for future research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review of papers on business model innovation was conducted based on the recommendations of Tranfield et al. (2003) from 2000–2019. A total of 70 conceptual and empirical studies on business model innovation research spanning from 2000 to 2019 were analyzed based on different classification schemes.FindingsThe systematic review approach of this paper offers a new perspective in understanding business model innovation, bridges the gap in the extant literature by providing consolidation regarding the triggers, enablers, barriers, dimensions and outcomes of business model innovation and indicating avenues for future research.Research limitations/implicationsA review of literature on business model innovation carried out in this paper is expected to open up new horizons for future researchers to develop and empirically test frameworks related to business model innovation. The five themes identified to shed light on important aspects of business model innovation. These themes are expected to not only strengthen the theoretical foundations of business model innovation but also help practitioners develop and implement business model innovations in their organizations. In particular, the themes related to the enablers, barriers, triggers and outcomes of business model innovation can provide useful insights for practitioners.Originality/valueThis study is the first of its kind that has provided consolidation regarding the triggers, enablers, barriers, dimensions and outcomes of business model innovation.