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Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 6/2019

19-02-2019 | Original Empirical Research

Organizational learning and technological innovation: the distinct dimensions of novelty and meaningfulness that impact firm performance

Authors: Li Zuo, Gregory J. Fisher, Zhi Yang

Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science | Issue 6/2019

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Abstract

This manuscript delineates technological innovation into the separate dimensions of novelty and meaningfulness to examine how a firm’s organizational learning modes of adaptive learning and experimental learning, together with unabsorbed slack resources, influence the effects of novelty and meaningfulness on firm financial performance. The multi-method empirical approach leverages secondary data from firm patent information and COMPUSTAT, and primary data from senior executives at 167 firms in various high-tech industries. The results indicate that adaptive learning heightens meaningfulness but diminishes novelty, whereas experimental learning harms meaningfulness. Additionally, firms’ unabsorbed slack resources moderate the relationships of experimental and adaptive learning with novelty. In particular, experimental learning enhances novelty only when a firm has sufficient unabsorbed slack to adjust resource levels in accordance with experimentation. Further, the results suggest that meaningfulness increases firm financial performance as represented by Tobin’s q, both independently and jointly when considered with novelty. These insights underscore the necessity of treating novelty and meaningfulness as separate dimensions of technological innovation that impact firm performance.
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Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Organizational learning and technological innovation: the distinct dimensions of novelty and meaningfulness that impact firm performance
Authors
Li Zuo
Gregory J. Fisher
Zhi Yang
Publication date
19-02-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science / Issue 6/2019
Print ISSN: 0092-0703
Electronic ISSN: 1552-7824
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00633-1

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