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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title The asymmetric effects of exploitation and exploration on radical and incremental innovation performance : an uneven affair
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Silke Lennerts
  • Anja Schulze
  • Torsten Tomczak
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title European Management Journal
Publisher Elsevier
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 0263-2373
Volume 38
Number 1
Page Range 121 - 134
Date 2020
Abstract Text Scholars have argued that the exploitation‐exploration interaction provides a source of competitive advantage beyond that provided by each individually. However, we know little about the mutual effects of exploitation and exploration on either incremental or radical innovation performance. To address this gap, we examine data from 171 manufacturing firms. We find incremental innovation performance is highest when exploitation interacts with an intermediary level of exploration. Radical innovation performance, however, is solely driven by exploration. A coupling with exploitation is not effective. We contribute to the extant literature, first, by disentangling the interaction effects of exploitation and exploration on radical and incremental innovation performance, respectively. Second, we extend extant literature that agrees that maintaining an appropriate balance of exploitation and exploration is critical for innovation performance and that has conceptualized this balance as symmetrical presence and magnitude of exploitation and exploration. In particular, we provide evidence in support of an asymmetric relationship.
Free access at DOI
Digital Object Identifier 10.1016/j.emj.2019.06.002
Other Identification Number merlin-id:18092
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